


toil and trouble

by ojejojej



Category: Monsta X (Band)
Genre: Friends to Lovers, M/M, Witch Curses, Witch Lee Minhyuk (Monsta X), Witch Yoo Kihyun, Witches, changkyun is a cat, i wrote this fic because i love making minhyuk suffer, or more like magic apprentice lee minhyuk
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-15
Updated: 2021-03-15
Packaged: 2021-03-23 13:41:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 22,792
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30056355
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ojejojej/pseuds/ojejojej
Summary: "It's Minhyuk," Hyungwon says urgently. "Someone cursed him."But there are no visible changes in Minhyuk's appearance. Minhyuk doesn't look sick, or hypnotized, or anything else that Kihyun would expect from an accidently casted curse. He actually looks pretty normal, if not a little annoyed."I'm fine," Minhyuk says then, and his voice also sounds the same.
Relationships: Lee Minhyuk/Yoo Kihyun
Comments: 13
Kudos: 41





	toil and trouble

**Author's Note:**

> in retrospect, i REALLY shouldn't have written this fic, mainly because i used it to procrastinate so i wouldn't study for my exams, but the idea came suddenly and i just HAD (!!!!!!!!) to write it. i can't even feel guilty. (it still took me 3 months to finish this.)
> 
> pls blame [this pic](https://p.favim.com/orig/2019/02/23/minhyuk-monsta-x-kihyun-Favim.com-6922187.jpg) for my kihyuk feels

Kihyun is in the middle of educating people, because people are stupid and they _need_ to be educated. Kihyun hates ignorant fools.

Besides, the current education failings of modern society are frightening.

At least that's what Kihyun tells himself when he writes a long Tumblr post about the differences between dragons and wyverns. Changkyun is resting on his lap, purring as Kihyun scratches his familiar behind the ears. The yellow lamp, which is the only source of light in the dim room, makes the cat's black fur glisten.

The peaceful night is interrupted by a sudden beating against the door. Startled, Changkyun springs on the floor and dashes to Kihyun's bedroom.

Exasperated, Kihyun gets up from his chair and strides angrily to the front door. Whoever decided it's a great idea to bother him in the middle of the night must be an idiot.

He opens the door rapidly, taken aback by the sight that greets him.

Jooheon, Minhyuk and Hyungwon are outside, standing there on his porch, stupidly, like the fucking idiots they are.

"Kihyun, please," Jooheon begins without greeting, even before Kihyun can open his mouth to tell them off. "You need to help us."

Kihyun blinks with a scowl on his face. "What do you want?" He narrows his eyes. "And I'm warning you, if it's something dumb, I'll feed you to dragons."

Not wyverns, he thinks. The wyvern's stomach is much more sensitive.

The three are unaffected by Kihyun's empty threat. Kihyun can tell that there's something off about them.

"It's Minhyuk," Hyungwon says urgently. "Someone cursed him."

Kihyun stares at him, dumbfounded, before his eyes shift to Minhyuk. Only now does he realize that Jooheon and Hyungwon are both holding Minhyuk's arms, as if afraid that Minhyuk would fall.

But there are no visible changes in Minhyuk's appearance. Minhyuk doesn't look sick, or hypnotized, or anything else that Kihyun would expect from an accidently casted curse. He actually looks pretty normal, if not a little annoyed.

"I'm fine," Minhyuk says then, and his voice also sounds the same. "It's nothing, really. They're exaggerating."

"Let Kihyun decide if we're exaggerating," Jooheon cuts in before turning to Kihyun. "Please. You're the only witch that we can ask for help."

Kihyun considers it for a second. Minhyuk is probably right, but Kihyun knows too well that sometimes magic may not be as obvious as it seems. Even if the chances are small, if Minhyuk is really cursed and something happens to him later because Kihyun neglected the danger it would be Kihyun's fault as well.

And maybe Minhyuk is obnoxious but Kihyun doesn't want to have him on his conscience.

"Okay." Kihyun sighs heavily.

He steps aside to let the three in.

Minhyuk starts complaining, saying that it's _really_ not necessary, but Jooheon and Hyungwon ignore his whining as they drag him inside.

Kihyun leads them to the living room and gestures at the couch. Hyungwon and Jooheon force Minhyuk to sit down there despite his protests that _he is fine and there's really no need to make such a fuss about it_. Kihyun hushes him with a glare.

He was disturbed already. It would be nice if Minhyuk didn't try to make his work any harder than it already is.

Kihyun's house is small. Undoubtedly the biggest room is the living room, but with the majority of the space being taken by the couch, the dining table with two chairs, and a huge bookshelf it feels crammed with four people inside.

The feeling of someone crowding his house doesn't help to soothe Kihyun's nerves.

"Now," Kihyun starts, sitting down next to Minhyuk. Jooheon and Hyungwon stand awkwardly in front of them. "Tell me what exactly happened."

The three share a glance and Kihyun immediately knows that he won't like whatever they are going to tell him.

"So?" he asks impatiently.

Jooheon and Hyungwon share a knowing look. They are like students in the principal's office waiting to get reprimanded after getting into trouble.

"Promise you won't yell," Minhyuk says sheepishly.

Kihyun's right eye twitches. "We both know that if you feel the need to say that it means that I will have a reason to yell."

"It wasn't our fault, though," Jooheon hurries to defend Minhyuk. "This time at least," he adds quietly when Kihyun glares at him.

Kihyun doubts it.

He manages to keep a straight face when they stumble, trying to explain how they just wanted to hang out and found a place that they thought was abandoned, somewhere in the woods. Kihyun doesn't let himself show any emotions when they tell how they found different things—and a ring among them, which Minhyuk decided to put on without hesitation. But Kihyun does find it troublesome to be calm when the three reach the part where an unknown woman started yelling at them for stealing and when they claim that they didn't realize she was a witch until she pointed her long finger at Minhyuk and casted the curse.

And, after listening to the whole story, Kihyun is sure he was absolutely right to doubt them. It was definitely their fault.

"You fucking idiots."

The three look down at the floor, and even Hyungwon, who usually takes pride in being much taller than Kihyun, seems so small and intimidated.

As they should, Kihyun thinks bitterly. He breathes out, feeling a headache coming already.

"You aren't children," Kihyun rebukes them, inspecting their expressions carefully, but no one dares to look at him. "What's wrong with you all? Don't you have a survival instinct or something? Don't you fucking know what to do not to get killed?"

They don't say anything. Not that Kihyun expects to get any response.

He leans back on the couch and hides his face in his hands. "I can't believe you."

"So." Jooheon shifts uncomfortably, finally lifting his eyes. "Will you help us?"

No, Kihyun wants to say. Because if this was any other situation they'd deserve to clean up their mess after themselves. But it's not so simple this time, mainly because magic is involved, and Kihyun knows for a fact that he is the only trusted witch that they can ask for help.

It doesn't mean that he will let it go so easily.

"Do you even know how lucky you are?" Kihyun's voice is cold and condescending. "What did you think would happen? That you could steal from a witch and expect her not to get angry? Casting a curse was the least you should have expected."

"We didn't mean to steal," Minhyuk repeats. "We didn't know, really. The place was neglected, we didn't think it would belong to someone."

"It will just teach you to think twice before taking things that aren't yours," Kihyun snaps.

This shuts them up again. None of them dares to say anything else when Kihyun is already agitated.

Kihyun exhales. There goes his peace. "Alright, you two." He looks at Jooheon and Hyungwon. "Go home."

"And me?" Minhyuk asks, eyes wide at the thought of staying alone with a seething Kihyun.

"You are cursed. You're staying here," Kihyun says slowly, as if Minhyuk was stupid.

Maybe he is. Probably. Only idiots would try to invade an unknown territory that clearly belongs to a witch. Minhyuk himself is training to be a witch and get a magic license, he should at least be able to recognize if there is one somewhere nearby.

Neither Jooheon nor Hyungwon try to argue, much to Kihyun's satisfaction. Out of the three only Minhyuk looks disappointed when he watches his friends leave.

But Kihyun is also disappointed. He glances at his laptop abandoned on the table. Before deciding to write that necessary educating Tumblr post Kihyun was in the middle of a research, working on his paper. Trying to gain knowledge. Doing something every witch should be dedicated to. Something _Minhyuk_ should be dedicated to, as a magic apprentice, but it seems he would rather walk around getting cursed than study.

That's why Kihyun hates taking on apprentices.

Minhyuk stares at him, waiting for whatever Kihyun is going to say.

"Alright." Kihyun sighs. "Tell me more about the curse. Do you remember what the witch said? Did you hear the incantation?"

"I didn't." Minhyuk clenches his fists in anxiety when Kihyun breathes in sharply. "She was mumbling. And she didn't really say anything special? Just kept cussing at us for trying to take her ring."

Kihyun wouldn't expect anything else. If the witch was really enraged—and Kihyun believes she was—she probably didn't care about giving clues that would help break the curse. Kihyun can't blame her.

Minhyuk sits with his shoulders slump, much less confident than he was with Jooheon and Hyungwon around, Kihyun observes.

"Why did you say it's nothing and you don't need any help?"

Minhyuk shrugs. "Because I don't feel cursed."

Kihyun knows what Minhyuk is talking about. There might have been a time when Kihyun himself casted a simple, unharmful curse at Minhyuk. Actually, it might have happened more than once or twice. But Minhyuk always deserved it and Kihyun made sure the curses weren't life-threatening.

And that's what worries Kihyun. "You don't feel _anything_ weird?"

Minhyuk shakes his head.

Kihyun frowns. "But did you feel anything when she was casting the curse?"

"I mean, yeah." Minhyuk wets his lips. "But I thought she failed. Or maybe the curse broke right after being casted, so I couldn't feel much of it."

That's a quite possible scenario, but not the only one.

"Do you really feel alright?" Kihyun questions.

"Yeah," Minhyuk nods. "Kinda nervous, because it's _you_ I'm asking for help, but I'm okay overall."

Kihyun decides to ignore the comment for now. "No headache, nausea? Nothing like this?" he makes sure.

"Nothing."

Kihyun thinks for a moment. "Let me check your temperature."

He does, and it's normal. Kihyun also checks Minhyuk's pulse, eyes, mouth, but everything seems alright. No trace of magical involvement.

Kihyun frowns. Simple curses always leave visible effects on the victim's body.

"Some curses may take hours to show any changes," Kihyun states, talking more to himself than to Minhyuk. "We can't do much for now. We need to wait."

"Wait?" Minhyuk furrows his brows. "What does it mean?"

"It means that you're staying here," Kihyun decides, much to Minhyuk's chagrin. "If you were really cursed I'm not letting you out of my sight until we know what kind of a curse it is."

The thought that it may not be just a simple, everyday curse makes Kihyun nervous.

"But," Minhyuk objects, trying to find a way out. "I don't have anything, like my pajamas or toothbrush, and, uh, are you sure this is necessary?"

Kihyun glares at him. "You can go if you want to," he lectures Minhyuk. "I'm not going to force you to stay here, but remember that if anything happens and I don't get to you in time and you die, it's not my fault."

The words make Minhyuk shudder.

It sounds much more macabre than needed, but at least Minhyuk looks convinced now. "No, I'm sorry. I'll stay."

Kihyun nods in satisfaction.

Minhyuk as an apprentice is the worst. He always comes late, is easily distracted, doesn't listen to Kihyun, forgets whatever Kihyun tells him and doesn't practice nearly as much as he needs to, no matter how many times Kihyun repeats that it's necessary because otherwise he won't be able to control magic.

And now, _this_.

Minhyuk isn't stupid, as Kihyun likes to claim. He is smart, and Kihyun has to admit it, but the problem is that Minhyuk could make use of it but decides not to. It's a shame, because he has a great potential.

It makes everything worse. Because Minhyuk has the brains, he just chooses not to use it. It aggravates Kihyun, who keeps cussing as he looks for a spare toothbrush in his bathroom.

When he finally finds one he grabs it together with a towel and some clothes for Minhyuk to change into before he goes back to the living room and shoves everything in Minhyuk's arms.

"Go shower."

Minhyuk blinks. "I'm really staying?"

"Do whatever you want to," Kihyun retorts. "Feel free to leave if you wish."

Kihyun doesn't add that he wouldn't leave if it were him, but he doesn't have to. Minhyuk seems discouraged just by his tone.

Minhyuk is lazy, but it doesn't take long before Kihyun finally sends him off to shower, reminding Minhyuk to look for any changes in his body, which makes Minhyuk's lips curl in a devilish smile.

"Admit it, you imagined me checking my dick in the shower," he teases, visibly pleased with himself.

"I don't care about your dick, Minhyuk." Kihyun grabs Minhyuk's shoulders and pushes him towards the bathroom.

Minhyuk groans in mocked disappointment. "What a pity. I have such a nice dick."

He turns his head to wink at Kihyun over his shoulder and Kihyun wonders why he's even wasting his precious time for this in the first place.

"I hope this fucking curse shrunk your balls or something," Kihyun mutters under his nose before pushing Minhyuk inside the bathroom and slamming the door shut just as Minhyuk was opening his mouth to give another stupid comment.

Minhyuk knocks on the door and then yells, "you can check it yourself if you want to!"

Kihyun closes his eyes and counts to five. If only he could seal Minhyuk's mouth, he thinks regretfully. But you can't cast a curse on an already cursed person, especially if you don't know what you're dealing with. It's too dangerous. He tries to ignore the part of him that thinks, why not take the risk?

Thankfully Minhyuk doesn't take long showers, which means Kihyun doesn't have to wait long before going to bed. He turns off his laptop, drafting the post he tried to make on Tumblr. He can't really think about dragons and wyverns now.

Changkyun emerges from Kihyun's room and jumps onto the table. He observes Kihyun closely as the witch is busy spreading a bedsheet on the couch in the living room for Minhyuk. The cat is clearly intrigued by the uncommon sight.

Kihyun wonders if Changkyun can sense Minhyuk's curse. It would be helpful.

"Minhyuk is staying tonight," Kihyun tells his familiar, organizing neatly the pillow and the duvet on the couch.

Changkyun snorts. Kihyun doesn't know if it's his reaction to the news, but it would be appropriate if it was.

"I know, right," Kihyun says to himself. "Sorry for the trouble, but I guess the idiot has no one else to go to."

The cat blinks. He jumps on the chair, and then on the floor before going to the hall, visibly uninterested in Minhyuk's topic. Kihyun can't blame him.

Nothing happens at night.

Kihyun can't really fall asleep for longer than two hours, the stress caused by the situation takes toll on him. Whenever he dozes off he ends up waking with a startle, mind filled with memories of nightmares in which Minhyuk was being cursed by a faceless witch. And every time it happens he gets up, well aware that he won't be able to calm down if he doesn't make sure that Minhyuk is safe.

And Minhyuk is most certainly safe, sleeping soundly on Kihyun's couch, wrapped in the blanket that Kihyun gave him earlier. He doesn't have fever, and doesn't seem to be in pain, much to Kihyun's relief.

In the morning Kihyun is sleepy and tired.

He's in a bad mood, scowling at the way Minhyuk doesn't wake up when he comes with breakfast. Kihyun puts down the plate with food on the table and when he's ready he yanks the blanket from Minhyuk's grip.

Minhyuk opens his eyes and blinks, confused. He takes a moment to recognize his surroundings before looking at Kihyun. When their eyes meet Minhyuk finally seems to realize what's going on.

"Oh," he says, his voice husky, and hides his face in his hands. "It wasn't a dream?"

"You thought getting cursed because of your own idiocy and coming to me crying for help was a dream?" Kihyun asks with a raised brow.

Minhyuk shrugs before curling up on the couch. "I wasn't crying." He yawns, his eyes closed. "I want to sleep."

Kihyun rolls his eyes. "You're not going to sleep again."

Minhyuk whines. He opens one eye to look at Kihyun in something that probably is supposed to be disapproval. Kihyun can't be sure. "I want to sleep. It's early."

"It's eight in the morning," Kihyun notices.

Minhyuk groans in annoyance. " _Early._ "

"Get up." Kihyun grips Minhyuk's arm and tugs at it, trying to pull him into a sitting position. "Minhyuk, it's been more than eight hours since you were cursed."

"So what?"

Kihyun is so close to losing it. Minhyuk is in his third year. He should know all the basics already.

But Kihyun tries not to be too annoyed just yet. Something is telling him that he will need much more patience if he wants to survive today.

"So," he starts, and he must be doing a poor job pretending to be unfazed because Minhyuk looks at him bewildered. "You _know_ that if there are no obvious signs of a curse from the very beginning a person should be examined every few hours. Even the slightest changes matter. We _talked_ about it."

Minhyuk finally seems to realize that either it's more serious than he wants to admit, or that Kihyun isn't going to let him win. He nods, his expression difficult to read. "Yeah. Sorry, forgot."

Kihyun takes a deep breath. "I can see that."

Minhyuk looks sheepish. He doesn't say anything to that.

They don't talk when Kihyun does his job, except for asking and answering some general questions. When Kihyun is done he sighs. Everything is alright. Minhyuk should be affected during the first few hours. Most curses work like that.

Kihyun wonders what is more likely: that the curse broke like Minhyuk said or that the witch was petty enough to cast one of those really advanced, really dangerous curses.

It's hard to say which one is more believable. But the thought that maybe the witch was really _this_ petty makes Kihyun frown.

No, that wouldn't make any sense. Minhyuk may be unbearable at times but it's not bad enough for someone to cast an advanced, energy-consuming curse. Usually when witches want to get revenge they try to make it quick and embarrassing. Or at least inconvenient. Like that one time Kihyun turned Hyungwon into a chinchilla for a full day.

(It was well deserved, in Kihyun's defense. And it was just for one day. Kihyun had to deal with Hyungwon's annoying presence for six months before he cursed the latter.)

It would make sense to turn Minhyuk into an animal as well. Or to give him hiccups for a week. Or to replace his hair with seaweed. But _this_ doesn't make sense at all.

Something is off.

"Hey," Kihyun says, wrecking his brain trying to come up with a logical, satisfying answer. "Are you _sure_ you were cursed?"

Minhyuk glares at him.

"Okay," Kihyun is quick to back off. "I had to ask, just in case."

"After being your guinea pig for the last year believe me, I _know_ when I'm being cursed."

That's true. When it comes to getting cursed, Minhyuk is an expert.

But the knowledge that this time it was a random witch that cursed him does nothing to calm Kihyun.

Minhyuk straightens his back before stretching, his hands high in the air.

"So." He yawns again and Kihyun's eye twitches when he doesn't cover his mouth. "Can I go now? I'm fine, and I have classes later."

"You're not going anywhere." Kihyun frowns. "It's still too early to tell if the curse worked."

Minhyuk looks at Kihyun and blinks slowly. "What?"

"You're staying here," Kihyun repeats.

"But I _can't_ stay," Minhyuk argues, his voice too loud for Kihyun's liking. "I have plans. Kihyun, you can't be this heartless."

"I'm trying to make sure you don't die because of your own stupidity in the first place, you dumbass," Kihyun huffs. "As I said yesterday, you're free to leave whenever you please, but bear in mind that if there's something wrong I may not be able to help you immediately."

He knows that Minhyuk doesn't like the sound of it. Minhyuk's expression says it all.

Minhyuk pouts, crossing his arms and leaning against the couch. "This is bullshit."

"Sure it is." Kihyun sighs, tired of Minhyuk's bratty behavior.

He rubs his face. There are things he has to do, and he really doubts he will get even half of it done by the end of the day if Minhyuk keeps being like this.

God, he needs to _work_ today.

He hasn't even eaten breakfast yet.

"Shit, my coffee," he mutters before running out of the room.

"You made coffee?" Minhyuk yells, following Kihyun to the kitchen. He looks around expectantly. "Where's mine?"

"Make your own." Kihyun shrugs, taking a sip from his cup.

He can't believe that he actually started his day dealing with Minhyuk instead of drinking his coffee. That must be why he already feels so on edge.

They eat their breakfast and later Kihyun asks Minhyuk to help him do the dishes. Minhyuk starts complaining and Kihyun regrets asking him to do that.

After they're finished they find Changkyun sleeping peacefully on the couch, which makes Minhyuk squeal in excitement before rushing to the cat.

Changkyun won't appreciate being woken up, but Kihyun doesn't tell Minhyuk about it.

Kihyun opens his organizer. He needs to come up with a way to accommodate the 'babysitting Minhyuk' task in his schedule, and with Minhyuk distracted it's probably the only moment he can do that.

He's interrupted by a sudden yelp from the apprentice.

"Kihyun!" Minhyuk cries out, looking at Kihyun with betrayal in his eyes. Kihyun can't ignore the way Minhyuk holds his left hand close to his chest. "Your cat scratched me!"

Kihyun rises his brows. "Yes. He's a _cat_. That's what cats _do_."

"But he never scratches you!" Minhyuk complains, his eyes shifting to Changkyun. He glares at the cat with distrust.

Changkyun looks irritated, and Kihyun doesn't know what Minhyuk did exactly, but he is certain that whatever it was, Minhyuk deserved it. Changkyun doesn't move, just stares back at Minhyuk.

Kihyun feels sorry for the cat.

"Changkyun is not a pet," Kihyun reminds Minhyuk, exasperated. "He's my familiar. You can't treat him like normal cats."

Minhyuk frowns. "It doesn't give him a reason to scratch me," he mutters under his nose.

Kihyun stops himself from saying that Changkyun most certainly had a very good reason to do that.

"If you are done torturing Changkyun you should change," Kihyun says instead, looking back at his organizer.

He scowls. He was supposed to meet Hoseok to work on their research but there's no way he can take Minhyuk with him.

Minhyuk will always find a way to ruin Kihyun's day.

"Are we going somewhere?" Minhyuk asks, eyeing Changkyun cautiously. Kihyun feels a little concerned.

"I need to run some errands."

Minhyuk looks at Kihyun, taken aback, and scoffs. "Boring," he says before giving his full attention to Changkyun again. He grabs the cat and puts him down on his lap, ignoring Changkyun's hisses. "Stay still," he mutters when Changkyun tries to leave.

Minhyuk holds Changkyun in place and Kihyun's eye twitches when he sees the way Changkyun waves his tail.

"Minhyuk, don't—" he tries to warn but is cut off when Minhyuk yells as Changkyun digs his claws in Minhyuk's bare thigh.

"Your cat hates me."

"Changkyun doesn't hate you," Kihyun says for the third time this day. "He doesn't appreciate certain behaviors, that's all. He'll be nice when you stop bothering him."

Minhyuk lets out a long, agonizing sigh, loud enough for Kihyun to press his lips in a thin line in an attempt to keep his mouth shut.

Just eleven more hours until midnight. Kihyun can do it.

"I don't think so," Minhyuk wails dramatically. "Your cat despises me, but I will find a way to change his mind. You'll see."

"Just leave him alone," Kihyun advises.

He's impressed that he hasn't lost his composure yet. Minhyuk is not easy to deal with. Especially not when he's bored. Kihyun doesn't think he will be able to face the people that he had to see today ever again.

Good thing that they're going home now.

Usually, Kihyun spends three hours at most with Minhyuk on a daily basis. And that's enough—more than enough, actually—to tick Kihyun off. So Kihyun treats this predicament as a test of patience for himself. A very sudden, really unfortunate, and definitely uncalled for test of patience.

"I don't get it," Minhyuk whines when they reach Kihyun's house. He shifts from one foot to another as he waits for Kihyun to open the door. "Just how long do I have to wait until you let me go?"

"At least until midnight."

Kihyun ignores the sound of discontent leaving Minhyuk's mouth. He unlocks and opens the door, letting Minhyuk in first.

"No reason to cry." Kihyun closes the door after himself. "The first signs of a curse should appear within the first twenty four hours."

"What are you going to do then?" Minhyuk asks, kicking his shoes off.

Kihyun takes a deep breath. He looks at Minhyuk, unimpressed, and tidies the shoes.

"You mean, if the curse starts affecting you?" Minhyuk nods. "Figure out what the curse is and how to break it."

"And what if you don't recognize the curse?" Minhyuk asks, a smirk spreading on his lips.

Kihyun shrugs. "I will need to do some research then. And then, I'll break the curse."

He takes off his own shoes and puts them next to Minhyuk's. He gives him a look that screams _see, it's not this hard to tidy after yourself_.

"Wait, so you admit that there is something that you may not know?" Minhyuk inquires, too amused for Kihyun's liking. "You? _The_ Yoo Kihyun? The prodigy, the youngest witch to get his license—"

"Stop with this bullshit," Kihyun interrupts him, pushing past him to go to the living room.

Minhyuk follows him.

"I'm just _surprised_."

"There's no witch that knows every curse," Kihyun explains calmly. "It's normal to encounter magic you're not familiar with. What a witch should know is how to look for answers."

"Your way of speech is so boring," Minhyuk groans.

He slumps on the couch and makes a weirdly inhuman noise either of misery or dissatisfaction. It's hard to tell.

"Don't die," Kihyun tells Minhyuk before disappearing in the kitchen.

Minhyuk can hear Kihyun searching his cabinets but he's not curious enough to get up and see what Kihyun is doing. He closes his eyes and stays like this for a few minutes. At one point Kihyun comes back, unused to silence whenever he's with Minhyuk, only to realize Minhyuk is probably dozing off.

"Don't fall asleep." He shoves something smelly under Minhyuk's nose.

It's enough for Minhyuk to open his eyes with a startle, looking at Kihyun in horror.

"What the hell?" Minhyuk's voice is shaky. He looks at the cup in Kihyun's hands with distrust in his eyes. "What is this filth?"

"How are you feeling?" Kihyun asks, completely ignoring Minhyuk's question.

"Disgusted," Minhyuk cries helplessly. "What the _fuck_ , Kihyun?"

Kihyun rolls his eyes. "It's made from some herbs," he explains. "Nothing poisonous. You won't die from it."

"I won't die from it?" Minhyuk repeats dumbly. "Wait, am I supposed to _drink_ it?"

"That would be preferable."

"But why?"

"Because you were cursed," Kihyun replies impatiently. "It's just some basic herbs. They're harmless. Now, drink."

Minhyuk furrows his brows, glaring at the cup. "You don't even know what curse it is."

"It won't break the curse, obviously. But it may help if this curse is messing up with your body from the inside. Drink."

Kihyun grabs Minhyuk's hand and wraps his fingers around the cup. Minhyuk looks at it, again, misery clear in his expression as he looks back at Kihyun. "But what if I'm alright?"

"It won't affect you at all then," Kihyun says, clearly already on edge. " _Drink_."

"Do I have to?"

" _Minhyuk_."

So Minhyuk drinks. He takes a sip from the cup and coughs, the bitter taste assaulting his taste buds and bringing tears in his eyes. He looks up at Kihyun, ready to beg just so he won't have to drink the disgusting mixture, but Kihyun's stern glare makes the words die in Minhyuk's throat. Instead he brings the cup to his lips to take another sip, swearing at Kihyun in his thoughts.

When he's done Kihyun has a satisfied smile, taking the cup from Minhyuk's hands.

"I hate you," Minhyuk mutters, disgruntled.

"Of course you do," Kihyun agrees, patting Minhyuk on the head, as if Minhyuk was a child.

It makes Minhyuk's frown deepen. "I'm not a kid."

"Of course you're not," Kihyun coos mockingly, patting him more. "Good boy."

"I'm not a _dog_ ," Minhyuk yells.

Kihyun doesn't answer.

Minhyuk seems to be alright the whole time, much to his pleasure. Kihyun spends the whole day trying to get some work done and Minhyuk busies himself with his phone. Kihyun casts silent glances at his apprentice from time to time in worry.

There's nothing wrong with him. He's lively and energetic, and a little bored after hours spent on doing nothing. He tries to distract Kihyun, talking about anything that comes to his mind several times. It's a very Minhyuk thing to do.

Maybe it's good, Kihyun thinks. Maybe it means that the witch was a beginner, and the curse broke just after being casted, like Minhyuk suggested before. Or maybe the witch decided to lift the curse, for whatever strange reason. But somehow it seems much less plausible than the darker scenarios Kihyun has imagined.

Witches are known to be vengeful. Extremely so, at times.

Minhyuk is still with Kihyun in the evening, talking Kihyun's ear off with occasional breaks to bother Changkyun whenever he spots the cat, and when the clock strikes one in the morning he stretches, straightening his back, a wide grin on his lips and a nice collection of scratches on both of his arms.

"It's been more than twenty five hours now." His eyes shine with excitement. "Nothing happened. So, I'm fine. Can I go home now?"

Kihyun knows that he did tell Minhyuk he can go after a full day passes, but somehow he is still reluctant.

Minhyuk stares at Kihyun expectantly, waiting for Kihyun's answer, and Kihyun sighs. "Maybe stay the night here again?"

The excitement morphs into confusion and then disappointment as Minhyuk studies Kihyun's features.

"But," he says, puzzled, "you said I'm alright to go after twenty four hours. And I feel fine."

"Yes, I know, but it's strange," Kihyun explains. "Don't you think it's weird that nothing happened? You were sure that you got cursed."

"Well, yeah, but maybe the curse failed, or something?" Minhyuk suggests. "In my first month all my curses would fail, do you remember? Maybe she was a beginner?"

Of course Kihyun remembers, how could he not. He was probably more frustrated than Minhyuk every time Minhyuk casted a curse only to fail. "We can't be sure."

Minhyuk presses his lips in a thin line. "I don't want to spend another full day here. I already cancelled my plans today, I don't want to do it tomorrow, too."

"Just stay the night," Kihyun offers. "If you're still fine in the morning then you can go, I promise. I won't try to stop you."

Minhyuk doesn't seem to be placated, but he doesn't look angry with the situation anymore. After thinking about Kihyun's words for a few moments he finally agrees.

As Kihyun expected, the night is peaceful. The next morning Minhyuk is very much alive, as energetic as ever, unable to hide his hope that Kihyun will finally let him go home.

And Kihyun lets him, of course. Not before instructing Minhyuk to contact him immediately if something happens, and Minhyuk nods. Hopefully Minhyuk won't forget what Kihyun is telling him. Or he won't disregard anything that Kihyun would deem worrisome. Although Kihyun knows there's a good chance that Minhyuk will do just that.

The good thing is that one of Minhyuk's friends is also his roommate, who also happened to be a witness to Minhyuk getting cursed. Kihyun hopes that although Hyungwon tends to be as irresponsible as Minhyuk, he will at least pay more attention to the unfortunate boy and inform Kihyun if there's anything wrong.

When Kihyun finally closes the door after Minhyuk he sighs in relief. The silence is comforting after putting up with the apprentice for such a long time. But Kihyun doesn't allow himself to bask in the comfort for too long. He grabs his laptop and immerses himself in work.

Kihyun feels anxious the whole day, his mind wandering, and he can't sleep at night. He can only relax when the next day comes and he sees Minhyuk and Jooheon in the middle of a very exciting debate while Kihyun is on his way to Hoseok's.

His first instinct is to approach them and question Minhyuk about everything, what he did, what he is up to, and how he is feeling, but he stops himself. He leaves and his presence remains unnoticed.

By the time the sun sets and evening comes Kihyun is back home. He posts that educational essay about dragons and wyverns on Tumblr and returns to the research he had been working on before he got busy with Minhyuk's case. Kihyun makes himself a cup of coffee and when it's ready he sits down by the table, his papers waiting for him.

It's about two hours later when Kihyun's phone rings, Hyungwon's name pops up on the screen.

Kihyun answers the call immediately. "Hyungwon? What's wrong?"

"Kihyun?" Hyungwon asks, his tone anxious. "I have no idea what is happening, but Minhyuk came back yesterday and everything was fine, and today he was also fine, but suddenly he's not and I don't know what's going on, and I thought you figured it all out but something is wrong—"

" _Hyungwon_ ," Kihyun hisses. "Explain. Your babbling makes no sense."

"Minhyuk is sick," Hyungwon explains. "Or, I don't know, maybe he isn't, but I'm not sure. It's weird, and he's, like, kinda out of it? And he's cold, I tried to warm him up but nothing works and he's literally _freezing_ but it's June, and I don't know what to do."

Kihyun can't understand everything that Hyungwon is saying, but he does know what it means. "What do you mean that he's 'out of it'?"

"He's just... weird. I don't know how to explain it, but it looks awful." Hyungwon does sound worried. "Can't you just come?"

"I'm coming," Kihyun assures him. "How long has he been like this?"

"I don't know," Hyungwon says helplessly and Kihyun grits his teeth. Is there anything that Hyungwon knows? "I left for a few hours and he was alright, but when I came back he was already sick."

The more Hyungwon talks the more nervous he sounds. Kihyun tries to get more information from him as the witch starts preparing to leave, but Hyungwon can't say much more.

"Listen," Kihyun tells him, packing some herbs in his bag. "I'm on my way. Watch him, and make sure to remember if anything changes."

"Okay."

"I'll be there in ten minutes."

"Okay."

As promised, Kihyun soon reaches the dormitory. When he steps into the building he's vaguely aware that it's the first time he's there ever since he got his witch license. It's weird, the place that used to be his home is now so unfamiliar, and Kihyun can't say he misses it.

He never thought he'd ever need to go there after graduating.

Kihyun goes to the third floor, as per Hyungwon's instruction, and looks for the room 316. When he finds the door he knocks. Kihyun doesn't need to wait long before the door opens, revealing Hyungwon, dressed in black T-shirt and black shorts.

The room is messy, Kihyun can't help but notice. Clothes, books, and other things are scattered around on the floor. One bed is empty, the sheets thrown messily, and on the other bed there is a big lump under the duvet, which Kihyun supposes to be Minhyuk.

Seeing the apprentice makes Kihyun instantly forget about the mess.

Kihyun crosses the room with hurried steps and sits down on the edge of Minhyuk's bed. He can only see Minhyuk's disheveled hair sticking from under the covers.

"Minhyuk?" Kihyun asks tentatively, and when he gets no answer he grabs the duvet and pulls it.

He's not really surprised to see Minhyuk wrapped in two or three blankets—Hyungwon did say Minhyuk was freezing—but at least now Kihyun can see his face. Minhyuk's brows are furrowed, and he grinds his teeth. His whole body is shaking.

"Hey," Kihyun tries again. "Do you hear me?"

He grabs Minhyuk's hand. The skin is icy cold, which takes Kihyun by surprise even though he was warned.

Kihyun presses his hand against Minhyuk's forehead and it's as cold as his hands.

"Minhyuk," Kihyun calls him. This time Minhyuk lets out a miserable whine. Kihyun isn't sure if this was supposed to be Minhyuk's response.

He thinks back to what Hyungwon told him earlier. He runs his fingers through Minhyuk's strands, a little surprised but also relieved to see that Minhyuk relaxes at the touch.

"You said he had no other symptoms?" Kihyun asks Hyungwon.

His eyes never leave Minhyuk.

Hyungwon nods.

"Are you sure? Maybe he experienced hallucinations?"

"He didn't." Hyungwon's voice is anxious.

Kihyun can't blame him. Curse-induced illnesses are vastly different than regular ones, and it's scary when nothing helps with the symptoms. And Kihyun is sure that Minhyuk suffers because of the curse. He can feel it, the unknown magic oozing from Minhyuk.

He needs to do something. Kihyun is well aware that he won't be able to break the curse right now, but at least he can try to eliminate the symptoms.

"I will need boiled water." Kihyun opens his bag to check if he has all herbs that he needs to make the potion.

"Do you need a cauldron?" Hyungwon asks.

Usually Kihyun would throw a fit about making potions in anything that is not a cauldron, but who knows how long it will take to find it in this mess.

"No," he decides. Now is not the time to be proper. "Just bring the water, and a glass or a cup."

Hyungwon nods and leaves the room.

As he waits for Hyungwon to come back, Kihyun tries to determine what else is wrong with Minhyuk, but it's hard to do so. Kihyun isn't even sure how aware Minhyuk is of what is happening.

When Hyungwon comes back a few minutes later Kihyun immediately gets to work.

"Give me a cup," Kihyun instructs Hyungwon. "And something to pour the potion with."

He makes the potion, carefully measuring every herb that he needs, and mixing it with a ladle that Hyungwon brings him.

When Kihyun deems the mixture done he pours it into the cup.

"Help me with him." Kihyun nods at Minhyuk.

"What is it?" Hyungwon furrows his brows, looking with distrust at the potion.

Kihyun rolls his eyes.

"A basic potion for sicknesses. There's a chance it won't help, but we have to try. We need to make him drink it."

It's difficult. Hyungwon has no problem helping Minhyuk sit up, but as soon as Kihyun tries to give Minhyuk the cup the apprentice turns his head. He wriggles, trying to break free, and almost kicks Kihyun in the process. Kihyun catches Minhyuk's leg and holds it still.

Apparently, Minhyuk is really fussy when he's sick.

"Minhyuk, don't be a child." Kihyun frowns. "You have to drink it. It will help you."

Kihyun tries to bring the cup to Minhyuk's lips but Minhyuk turns his head again. He lets out a pathetic whine.

"Come on," Hyungwon tries to encourage him. "Kihyun will leave you alone if you drink it."

It's unclear whether Minhyuk lets himself be convinced, or if he's getting too tired to put up much fight, but finally he lets Kihyun give him the potion. Minhyuk takes the cup from him. His hands are shaking and Kihyun needs to help him so the drink won't spill.

When Minhyuk takes the first sip he starts coughing, and Kihyun rubs his back comfortingly. He waits until Minhyuk calms down and then nudges the cup to his lips but Minhyuk tries to push him away.

"Stop being fussy," Kihyun scolds him.

It takes much longer to make Minhyuk drink the potion than Kihyun wished. When he's finally done Hyungwon takes the cup from his hands and Kihyun helps him lie down again and tucks him in.

A few minutes later Minhyuk closes his eyes. His breathing slows down.

"Is this normal?" Hyungwon asks, alarmed.

"Yeah. He will be asleep for a few hours," Kihyun assures him.

It calms down Hyungwon a little, but Kihyun can say he's worried by the sight of wrinkles on the younger's forehead.

Kihyun sits down on the floor, his back leaning against Minhyuk's bed.

"So the potion helped?"

"I don't know," Kihyun answers genuinely. "He should be better when he wakes up, but he may still be sick. We'll have to wait."

Kihyun wakes up to a warm sunlight creeping through the window. His neck is stiff and his legs are numb.

He didn't even realize when he was falling asleep.

He yawns and stretches, feeling gross after spending the night in his clothes in a curled position on the dirty floor in Minhyuk's room. Hyungwon is sleeping on his bed in a weird position, probably having dozed off unwillingly.

Kihyun blinks a few times and rubs his eyes, trying to get rid of sleepiness. He looks at Minhyuk, relieved to see him sleeping well, breathing softly. He isn't trembling anymore, and maybe he looks a little paler than usual, but still much healthier than the night before. Actually, he looks so calm that Kihyun wouldn't believe he was sick a few hours ago if the witch didn't see it himself.

There's no clock on any of the walls, and Kihyun doesn't see any alarm clock either—he wouldn't accuse Minhyuk or Hyungwon of owning one, so no surprise here—but there is a phone on Minhyuk's bedside table. Kihyun takes it and presses the power button to light up the screen. It's only a little after six o'clock.

Usually, Kihyun would go home but this time he needs to make sure Minhyuk is okay first and Kihyun doesn't want to wake him up.

When he puts the phone back in its place Minhyuk moves, and Kihyun goes still.

At first it seems that Minhyuk is simply shifting in his sleep, but just when Kihyun is about to relax Minhyuk frowns before opening his eyes and then squeezing them shut. He stays unmoving with his eyes closed for a few seconds before trying to open them again, finally registering Kihyun's presence.

"Oh," Minhyuk says finally after a few moments. He sits up, hiding his face in his hands as he yawns. "You're here."

"What a nice welcome," Kihyun responds, but his words lack the sarcasm typical for him. Kihyun is more focused on Minhyuk's condition than his first words after seeing Kihyun in his room. "How do you feel?"

For a brief moment Minhyuk looks like he wants to say that he's alright, but he stops himself. He looks conflicted and unsure what to say.

Kihyun waits patiently. He doesn't want to rush Minhyuk if it means Minhyuk will hide that something is wrong.

"I was sick, right?" Minhyuk asks instead of answering. Kihyun nods. "Wow. I mean, I don't feel sick anymore. I'm perfectly fine."

"You can't be 'perfectly fine' just like this." Kihyun furrows his brows. "Do you have any more symptoms? Headache? Nausea?"

"No, I really feel fine," Minhyuk promises. "Seriously. I'm surprised, too. Usually when I'm sick I'm a wreck for a week. This is so _weird_."

It is weird indeed, Kihyun thinks, worrying his bottom lip. "And you're not hiding anything? I need to know."

"I'm not, I promise," Minhyuk states, looking probably the most serious Kihyun has ever seen him.

"Do you feel tired?"

"No," Minhyuk says. "But this—this was _really_ weird. Like, last night? I've never felt like that."

"What do you mean?" Kihyun sits down on Minhyuk's bed. Minhyuk crosses his legs.

"You know when you're sick and you feel tired and just really shitty," Minhyuk explains, his voice uncertain. "And it was shitty last night, but, like, one hundred times worse. And it was so cold. I was numb."

Kihyun observes him with watchful eyes. "And now?"

Minhyuk shrugs. "I feel normal. As if I only imagined last night. But I couldn't, right?"

"You were sick," Kihyun confirms again. "And remember it was because of that curse. Curse-induced sickness is much different than the regular ones, like cold or flu."

"Oh," Minhyuk breathes. His gaze softens. "The curse. Is that what the sickness was?"

"It definitely was." Kihyun nods. "That was literally a textbook example."

"A textbook example," Minhyuk repeats. "It means that you can cure it, right? It must be simple then. You gave me something to drink yesterday, didn't you? Is that it? Did you heal me and now I'm okay?"

"The sickness may return any time," Kihyun says and Minhyuk's excitement dies down. "You're still cursed. Either the potion helped with the sickness, or whatever it was that made you sick in the first place is gone now, but the curse isn't broken yet."

"So what now?" Minhyuk asks, confused. "What am I supposed to do now?"

"We will keep searching what the curse is and how to break it. I will also prepare more potion. Who knows when you will need it."

As promised, Kihyun decides to make more potion for Minhyuk in case the sickness returns. Before leaving he instructs Minhyuk and Hyungwon how to store the potion that was left from last night.

Evening comes and Minhyuk is back at Kihyun's.

"If I knew getting cursed was all you needed to stop swearing at me every time I came late I would get cursed much earlier," Minhyuk comments with a cheeky smile.

He gets comfortable on Kihyun's couch. It's cold tonight and Minhyuk buries himself under Kihyun's blanket, satisfied with how warm it feels.

Kihyun glares at him, lips pressed together in a thin line. "You shouldn't be joking like that," he reprimands, his nerves jarred by Minhyuk's carelessness. "It's serious."

Of course Kihyun knows that Minhyuk isn't actually _this_ careless, and it's just his way of dealing with serious matters like this one. He's always the first one to joke about anything and everything in attempts to brighten the mood. But there are moments when Kihyun struggles to understand it, and he usually chooses to get angry. It's much easier.

But maybe it's different this time, Kihyun realizes, when Minhyuk doesn't respond with more jokes. His expression turns solemn instead and Kihyun needs a while to remember that the one who is affected the most is actually Minhyuk.

He sighs, running his hand through his hair, trying to control his frustration. Getting frustrated at Minhyuk won't help. Besides, Minhyuk doesn't mean anything bad.

"Okay," he says, and for the first time in who knows how long Kihyun actually makes the effort to sound nice to Minhyuk. "Let's get to work."

Kihyun teaches Minhyuk how to make the potion.

The first few tries go as Kihyun would expect. Minhyuk manages to either burn the ingredients or make them explode. And even though Kihyun is able to put out the fire before it spreads he feels his patience is running thin. By the third time he yells at Minhyuk, and Minhyuk rolls his eyes. For a short while Kihyun forgets that it's not one of their regular sessions.

It's late before Minhyuk manages to finally make the potion, and Minhyuk complains why they had to waste so much time if Kihyun just could do it himself and give the potion to Minhyuk instead. Kihyun hushes him. (" _There is no way I'm letting you go back home without teaching you how to make the potion. You need to be prepared for anything._ ")

There's a lot they don't know, and Kihyun honestly doesn't even have any idea where they should start, but he won't admit it to Minhyuk. Instead Kihyun gives him some of the books and tells Minhyuk to read them carefully and mark the pages with curses that seem similar to Minhyuk's curse.

"But Kihyun," Minhyuk protests, his voice weak in horror as he looks at the pile, "that's too much."

Kihyun doesn't even look up at Minhyuk. "We need to get it done."

He's already studying one of the books, his eyes reading carefully whatever is written on the pages.

Minhyuk groans theatrically, greatly exaggerating his misfortune—Kihyun is sure it's worse to be cursed for the rest of your life than to spend a few hours reading books—before finally plopping down beside Kihyun on the floor. He takes one of the books with a miserable expression and opens it on the last page.

"Kihyun," Minhyuk squeals, reaching his hand to pat Kihyun's shoulder. "It reads here, eight hundred seventy two."

Kihyun hums. He scans a page in his book about zombifying curses and decides quickly to disregard it. Whatever the curse is, Minhyuk is definitely not a zombie.

Minhyuk makes a dissatisfied noise, patting Kihyun's shoulder again, more frantically this time. " _Kihyun_."

"What?"

"This book has _eight hundred seventy two pages_!" Minhyuk exclaims. "It will take _ages_ to read it!"

"It won't." Kihyun sighs, disregarding another page. Minhyuk wasn't turned into a slime either. Unfortunately. "The sooner you start reading the sooner we will finish it."

Minhyuk mutters something under his nose, Kihyun isn't sure what and he doesn't think he would want to find out either.

They end up falling asleep in Kihyun's living room.

It takes much longer than Kihyun hoped. After the first day they're as clueless as before. After the second day Kihyun feels drained.

He knew it wouldn't be easy, but now it feels nearly impossible.

He doesn't tell Minhyuk about it, though. The apprentice is already discouraged, and Kihyun is not going to tell him that he doubts their efforts will bring any satisfying results. They still need to do it thoroughly. They need to be precise not to overlook anything.

If only Minhyuk remembered something. Anything.

"Are you sure the witch didn't say anything?" Kihyun asks, wrecking his brain to think about any clues that they could have forgotten. "Didn't she mention anything? Something seemingly out of context?"

"I told you she didn't," Minhyuk mumbles, propping his cheek on his hand, staring lazily at the open book in front of him. "She just called us idiots and then pointed her finger at me and casted the curse."

Kihyun lets out a heavy sigh. There _must_ be something that could help them. "Are you _sure_?"

"I am," Minhyuk groans. "She was lamenting, saying something about her beloved treasure, and that she will make us regret it. It was a pretty dramatic speech."

"What did she say exactly?"

Minhyuk blinks, looking at the wall in reflection. "I think she compared me to the ring."

_This_ may be their clue, Kihyun thinks. "How?"

"I don't remember." Minhyuk shrugs. "I just think so. Besides, she was crying and she wasn't making much sense. I guess the ring meant a lot to her?"

Kihyun nods. No clue here either, then.

"Oh, and at one point she said that my existence will reflect my crimes."

"Wait," Kihyun says slowly, trying to organize his thoughts. "Your _existence_ will reflect your crimes?"

"I think it was something like this." Minhyuk hugs his legs, resting his chin on his knees. "But really, she was hysterical, and it wasn't exactly out of context, but I just thought it was very dramatic of her to say that."

"There was nothing else that would explain the curse?" Kihyun makes sure and Minhyuk simply shrugs again.

Kihyun exhales, turning the page in his book.

They still know nothing.

"It doesn't feel like we're doing anything," Minhyuk exclaims four days after recovering from the magic sickness.

Kihyun presses his lips in a thin line, torn between nodding—because Minhyuk is right—and scolding him, giving him a lecture about giving up without even trying properly.

In the end he doesn't do anything like that. He can't say that Minhyuk isn't trying. If anything, it's probably the first time Kihyun has seen him trying so hard.

"We're doing our best," Kihyun ends up saying. "This is only a curse. A curse that requires only an incantation, probably. We will find what it is finally."

Minhyuk stays silent for a short moment before scoffing. He crosses his arms on his chest, and suddenly Minhyuk looks like a child that's about to throw a tantrum. Strangely accurate description for a twenty four year old.

"What?" Kihyun asks. He marks his page and closes the book.

"It just doesn't feel like we're doing anything!" Minhyuk complains with much more frustration in his voice than Kihyun expected. "What's the point of browsing through all those books if we can't find anything? Even when we find something, it just doesn't make sense."

"We _will_ find something eventually," Kihyun says, his voice stern. "Stop acting like a kid."

Minhyuk glares at Kihyun. "I'm not acting like a kid. I just want to do something useful."

"We can't do anything more now."

Kihyun doesn't even try to hide his frustration anymore.

"Maybe we can. We have done nothing so far."

"Well, maybe we could have done more if only you remembered something," Kihyun huffs.

Minhyuk doesn't respond. He narrows his eyes and stares at Kihyun.

Kihyun exhales. He regrets letting himself get mad.

"Okay." Kihyun closes his book after marking the page. "Go home."

Minhyuk blinks. "What?"

"You're more irritable today than I am," Kihyun explains. "We're both tired. There's no point trying to work more tonight when we're on edge. Go rest."

For a moment he thinks that Minhyuk will try to argue. But maybe Minhyuk is too exhausted to have a fight, or maybe he realizes that the situation is getting out of control. Instead of replying he starts packing his stuff.

"Okay," Minhyuk agrees. "I'll come tomorrow, around ten?"

"I'm busy tomorrow," Kihyun is quick to say. He winces. "Sorry, forgot to tell you. I have a meeting, and then I need to go to Hoseok."

"I'll come on Saturday then," Minhyuk nods. He stands up, ready to leave. "Thanks for today."

"No problem," Kihyun mutters, Minhyuk's discouragement affecting his mood. "Keep safe."

Only after Minhyuk leaves does Kihyun realize that the apprentice didn't try to bother Changkyun the whole day. He looks at Changkyun, the familiar is sleeping peacefully on the couch, miraculously unbothered.

Hoseok, for a witch, is surprisingly kind. Kihyun has met hundreds of witches, before and after getting his license, and the one thing he learned about them was that they're never kind.

Some witches are divided into two groups: those who hate people and those who crave power, which they can obtain easily thanks to magic. Other witches either belong to both groups, or they don't belong to any, but even then it's easy to become greedy and spiteful. This community can be really horrible at times.

And yet, somehow, Hoseok does not seem influenced by it at all. Kihyun is amazed, especially that he himself became affected quite quickly, despite trying not to.

"So," Hoseok begins when he's done packing herbs into pouches for Kihyun. "I've heard that your apprentice got cursed."

Kihyun sighs as he starts packing the pouches to his bag. "Everyone knows now, then?"

"You know how it is." Hoseok shrugs with a smile. "There were two students _and_ an average boy, if I’m not mistaken. There are not many magic users who would want to mingle with regular people. Minhyuk stands out by befriending them."

Kihyun frowns, his movements more vehement. "How do you even know that?" he asks, annoyed.

"Don't get mad," Hoseok says. "A witness was enough. And even if they didn't know Minhyuk and the other two, it's still easy to figure out who was cursed. Because, seriously, you know Minhyuk, he's so careless it's a miracle it took him so long to get on someone's bad side."

"A witness?" Kihyun's voice is intrigued. "Do you know who the witness is?"

"I think it was Hyunwoo." Hoseok furrows his brows in concentration. "Why?"

"There's something weird with the curse," Kihyun explains. "It's been days but we still don't know what exactly it does, and how to break it. Minhyuk doesn't remember much, maybe someone else could help."

"Yeah, I don't think Hyunwoo would help you a lot." There is no enthusiasm in Hoseok's voice, which is quite unusual for him. "You know how warlocks are. Always leaving when they see a problem, not wanting to be a part of it."

Kihyun knows that's true, but the knowledge that someone saw at least a bit of the incident is enough to give him hope. "It wouldn't hurt to ask, would it?"

"Even if, you probably won't be able to question him about it for some time. I heard he left two days ago."

"And you don't know when he's coming back?" Kihyun asks, losing his excitement.

Hoseok shrugs with an apologetic expression. "Whenever he feels like it, probably. But it could take months as well."

"Shit," Kihyun cusses, closing his bag. "Here I thought I will finally know something."

"Minhyuk really doesn't remember anything?" Hoseok questions and frowns when Kihyun confirms. "What about the other two that were with him?"

"Jooheon obviously doesn't know anything." Kihyun sighs. _That's_ why you never do anything with regular people. Because when it comes to most serious matters, they don't know _shit_. "And Hyungwon is just as bad as Minhyuk. It's a miracle these three survived so long."

"Well, I'm sure you will find out what it is soon enough," Hoseok says with a comforting smile. "Weren't you a prodigy? No one managed to get their license before turning twenty, except for you."

"It's because no one really starts thinking about practicing magic until they're older," Kihyun mutters, his mood darkening. "Thanks for the herbs. I'll be back next week."

"Aw, leaving already?" Hoseok pouts. "We haven't seen each other in ages, I thought we would catch up."

"It's been a week."

"Exactly!" Hoseok exclaims.

Kihyun smiles warmly at the other witch. "Sorry, I have something to do," he tells Hoseok apologetically. "When I break the curse finally I'll come pay a visit, okay? We haven't done anything together other than work in so long."

"You definitely have to," Hoseok agrees. "Good luck with the curse."

What Kihyun does not expect is to see two figures waiting for him in front of his door when he comes home in the evening. The sun is long set and Kihyun can't see who it is. He thinks about the best curses to cast when he expects to get attacked, only to forget them all when he realizes the two are Minhyuk and Hyungwon.

"What are you doing here?" Kihyun asks, eyes wide in surprise. Why would Minhyuk need to come if they're supposed to meet the next day?

As soon as Kihyun says it Hyungwon looks at him, his face contorted in a mix of anger and worry. "You said it would help!"

"What?" Kihyun is taken aback by the sudden outburst.

He looks at Minhyuk, hoping that maybe Minhyuk will explain what Hyungwon's problem is, but Minhyuk just keeps standing in place, his head hung as he stares at the ground.

"The potion did nothing, it's useless!"

Kihyun needs a moment to realize what Hyungwon is talking about before he turns sharply to Minhyuk. "Is he _sick_ again?"

"I'm fine," Minhyuk tries to assure them, but just by hearing his voice Kihyun can tell that he is not fine.

"We tried to contact you, but you didn't pick up your phone!" Hyungwon accuses and Kihyun feels so stupid for not having the device with him the whole time. "Where were you?"

"I had things to do," Kihyun tries to defend himself, although knows it's a weak excuse. He should have never left his phone at home.

Hyungwon seems to think so too, but he spares Kihyun any more comments.

Kihyun unlocks and opens the front door. "Go inside, quickly," he tells them, although Hyungwon already started leading Minhyuk inside even before Kihyun could say anything.

"What happened?" Kihyun asks when they're inside.

Hyungwon and Minhyuk are sitting on the couch, Minhyuk tucked to Hyungwon's side.

Hyungwon glares at Kihyun. "He's sick."

Kihyun rolls his eyes. "I know that," he hisses, but he can't ignore the way worry stirs in his stomach. "But tell me exactly. Everything you know. What are the symptoms?"

At that Hyungwon nudges Minhyuk, who doesn't seem to follow the conversation. Minhyuk looks at his roommate and blinks before shifting his eyes at Kihyun, clearly confused.

"Minhyuk," Kihyun calls him, frowning. He sits down next to Minhyuk. "How do you feel? Hyungwon says you're sick."

"I—" Minhyuk starts, blinking again, "I don't know. Tired."

"Only tired?"

Minhyuk doesn't look like he can focus enough to answer. Kihyun feels bad for pressuring him, even though he knows he has to. Minhyuk looks at Hyungwon again.

"Tell him what you told me," Hyungwon encourages.

"I was cold?" Minhyuk says, although the doubt in his voice makes the statement sound more like a question. "And I had a headache?"

"Was there anything else?"

Minhyuk takes a moment to answer. "No."

Suddenly Changkyun steps into the room. He seems to hesitate only for a moment before jumping on the couch.

"Do you still have a headache?" Kihyun asks, trying to ignore Changkyun's weird behavior as the familiar lies in a comfortable position on Minhyuk's lap.

This time Minhyuk answers quicker. "No," he replies. "But I'm still cold. But—but I'm more tired. I think."

He starts scratching Changkyun behind the ear and the cat purrs.

Kihyun nods. He licks his lips, the furrow of his brows doesn't disappear.

"How long has it been?"

"About two hours," Hyungwon says.

"At first we thought I was just tired, I've been spending all days here recently," Minhyuk adds, his eyes fluttering close, and the apprentice forces himself to keep them open. "When Hyungwon said it starts looking like what happened last time I drank the potion but it didn't help."

Everything is strange. It's strange how the two claim that Minhyuk drank the potion but it didn't help. It's strange how easily Changkyun let Minhyuk touch him with no trace of fear of being squished to death.

The familiar's behavior is oddly distracting.

"Are you sure that's what you drank?" Kihyun asks.

Hyungwon makes a noise of disbelief. "Do you think I don't know what I gave him?"

"That was it, really," Minhyuk confirms.

"Whatever it was that helped him last time, it was not the potion," Hyungwon says firmly. "But you still helped him somehow."

The statement renders Kihyun speechless. He looks at Minhyuk, and he can feel his throat closing. The only thing he did was make the potion and forcing Minhyuk to drink it. He didn't do anything else.

To know that Kihyun actually has no idea how to help Minhyuk is unbearable and it weighs heavily on his shoulders.

Minhyuk rests his head against the backrest and closes his eyes, never stopping petting Changkyun. Instinctively Kihyun reaches out to put his hand on Minhyuk's hair. He runs his fingers through the strands, trying desperately to think of a solution. Minhyuk sighs, leaning to the touch, and Kihyun lets himself stay like this for a while.

Maybe he needs another potion. Kihyun doubts that's the case, but he has nothing better to offer for now and it won't hurt Minhyuk as long as Kihyun makes sure to use only the most common herbs.

He tries not to show how scared he is at the thought that a simple potion won't be enough this time.

With a heavy sigh Kihyun stands up. Minhyuk whines at the loss of contact. "It was nice."

"Minhyuk." Kihyun sounds too impatient. "Now is not the time—"

"No, it _helped_ ," Minhyuk groans. He opens his eyes to look at Kihyun. "I don't know what you did, but it helped."

Kihyun frowns. He looks at Minhyuk, then at Hyungwon, who looks equally as dumbfounded as Kihyun feels. "I don't know what you're talking about. I didn't do anything."

"But it's better now." Minhyuk stares at Kihyun and he definitely doesn't seem to be joking around. "What did you do?"

"I didn't—"

"Do it again," Hyungwon cuts Kihyun. "What you've just been doing."

Even Changkyun looks at him expectantly at this point.

"I really didn't do anything special," Kihyun says again, but he still listens.

He starts playing with Minhyuk's hair again, brows furrowed in confusion as Minhyuk sighs in relief. "It's definitely better."

"So that's it?" Kihyun asks, unable to make sense of it. He doesn't understand what's going on. "This is the curse? All you need is... touch, or whatever this is?"

"I spent the whole day with him today," Hyungwon reminds Kihyun. "But he still got sick."

Kihyun knows Minhyuk. The apprentice is awfully affectionate. And Kihyun knows that if Minhyuk and Hyungwon spent the whole day together Minhyuk wouldn't be able to refrain from being clingy.

But it makes no sense. What kind of course does something like that.

"So, all he needs is actually your presence?" Hyungwon asks. "Or touch? Like, is that it?"

Kihyun feels the heavy gazes casted at him from both Hyungwon and Minhyuk. Even if this is true—and it seems so _bizarre_.

And then, when Kihyun thinks about it, it clicks.

"The first time you got sick," he realizes, tongue heavy and throat tight as he swallows uncomfortably, "I didn't see you for two days. But you got better the next day."

"After you came," Hyungwon adds.

Minhyuk looks at Kihyun, his expression lost as he listens to what Kihyun and Hyungwon are saying.

Kihyun bites his lips. "And today was the only day that we didn't spend together," he finishes the thought.

Silence falls on them heavily, suffocating and unbearable. Neither of them dares to say anything. When someone finally does speak, it's Minhyuk, shifting uncomfortably in his seat, rubbing his hands together.

"So," he starts, with a voice so small and unsure that Kihyun stares at him in surprise. It's his first time hearing Minhyuk like this. "You can fix it now, right? You know now what the curse is."

His eyes shine brightly, and there's so much hope in them that Kihyun feels guilty for crushing it. "I'm sorry," he says weakly. "I still don't know what the curse is."

"What do you mean?" Hyungwon asks. "We've just found the problem."

"Even if the curse somehow bonded Minhyuk to me it doesn't mean we know what it is," Kihyun tries to explain the best he can, but somehow confirming that he is involved with the curse makes him feel weird. "We don't know why it's me. Hell, I don't even know that witch. It would make much more sense to bond Minhyuk to you, or to Jooheon."

Hyungwon blinks, eyeing Kihyun carefully. "It would," he agrees slowly. "But it's not me or Jooheon, it's you."

"Why would it be you if you don't know the witch?" Minhyuk asks, brows furrowed in consternation. "Just—whatever, just make it stop."

"I _can't_ ," Kihyun stresses. "At least, not now. We need to figure out the curse first."

"We know the curse!"

"We don't, Minhyuk." Kihyun raises his voice, and it seems to shut up Minhyuk for a moment. "Are you even listening? We know what kind of a curse it is now, not _exactly_ what it is. The witch wanted to bond you to something—to _someone_ —and it happened to be me, for whatever reason. We know this much, but it's not enough to break the curse."

Minhyuk clenches his fists. His chin starts trembling slightly. "Then what do you need to know so you can break it?"

He looks upset, and Kihyun can't really blame him, but it doesn't mean that the situation isn't hard for him, too. And Kihyun is fed up with Minhyuk being difficult. Still, he tries stay calm.

"I need to know the motives," he says. "What the witch was thinking and feeling when she was casting the curse. Then we will know how it relates to me."

"We already told you everything," Minhyuk objects. "She thought we were trying to steal from her, so she got mad and cursed me."

"It doesn't explain anything," Kihyun states, feeling his frustration growing.

"That was all that happened," Minhyuk says impatiently. "There's nothing more to say!"

"She must have said something," Kihyun argues. "I need to know all the details."

"Kihyun," Hyungwon cuts in, his voice surprisingly calm, which contrasts with his concerned expression. "We already told you everything. There's nothing more, believe us."

And yet, there's something missing.

Kihyun rubs his face. They got such a big clue, and yet there's so much they don't know. But to know more, Minhyuk needs to help him. However, looking at him right now, Kihyun knows that Minhyuk won't say much tonight.

"Okay, we will return to it tomorrow," he decides, and adds before Minhyuk can say anything, "I know you want me to break the curse now but I will need to do more research for that. Besides, we're too tired now. All of us need proper rest."

He looks at Minhyuk pointedly, and although the words _especially you_ don't leave his mouth, both Minhyuk and Hyungwon know what he means.

"Okay," Minhyuk gives up. He takes Changkyun in his arms and stands up. When he staggers both Kihyun and Hyungwon move to help him. Minhyuk scoffs at them. "I'm _fine_. Stop being ridiculous."

"Actually, maybe you should spend the night here," Kihyun offers, placing his hand on Minhyuk's shoulder.

It's obvious that Minhyuk doesn't like the idea, judging by his frown.

"You haven't been here for long," Kihyun continues, trying to sound unbothered. "And if we're right, and I can really help you..."

He trails off, unsure. It's so weird to think that Kihyun is what Minhyuk needs for his curse-induced sickness.

"Kihyun is right," Hyungwon says then, and the frown of displeasure on Minhyuk's face morphs into a look of total betrayal. "It'd be better if you stayed here."

"I can survive one night without Kihyun," Minhyuk growls. "It's not like I haven't before."

"I know you can, but you are sick," Kihyun reminds him. "You haven't fully recovered yet."

"I feel fine," Minhyuk repeats. "Stop babying me."

"I'm not trying to baby you," Kihyun replies impatiently. Minhyuk sure is testing his nerves today. "I don't want to be responsible for whatever this curse may do to you. Believe me or not, but I don't enjoy being a nanny to a supposedly twenty four year old."

Minhyuk narrows his eyes. "Well, and it's not like I want to be depended on someone, especially you."

Kihyun doesn't know if it was his imagination or if Minhyuk really did that, but somehow the way the apprentice said the word _you_ sounded painful in Kihyun's ears. Filled with too much venom for someone as bright and positive as Minhyuk. Almost as if Minhyuk meant to say it as an insult.

But Kihyun decides to ignore it for now. Clearly neither he nor Minhyuk are in their right minds to hold a proper conversation.

"Just this one night," he says, his voice colder than intended. He casts a glance at Changkyun in Minhyuk's arms. "Please."

"You already told me once to stay _just for one night_ ," Minhyuk mumbles, but doesn't argue anymore.

Just like the first night that Minhyuk stayed over, Kihyun can't fall asleep. He's tossing around in his bed, stupidly hoping that sleep will finally come, even though he knows it won't. At least not anytime soon.

He's not worried about Minhyuk staying in another room, mainly because Changkyun is there with him, and Kihyun knows that if anything happened the familiar would come get the witch. Kihyun is more worried about not being able to break the curse and disappointing Minhyuk.

The sunrays are creeping through his blinds and Kihyun realizes that he didn't sleep at all. He groans at the thought. If Minhyuk is still going to be in a bad mood today it will be a nightmare.

Kihyun stays in bed, unwilling to do anything today. He closes his eyes in another attempt to fall asleep.

A few hours pass and Kihyun is still awake. When he suddenly hears a noise, like something falling on the floor, he scrambles from the bed and rushes out of the bedroom. He charges into the living room, surprised to see several books on the floor and Minhyuk standing sheepishly like a deer caught in the headlights.

"Oh my," Minhyuk says when he sees Kihyun's scared expression. "It—it was an accident, I swear. I didn't mean to touch it. I, uh, I'm sorry for being loud."

Kihyun needs a moment to realize that Minhyuk looks okay, probably feels okay too, before he can finally breathe. The second thing he finally notices is that Minhyuk does not seem angry or frustrated anymore.

"It's okay," Kihyun assures him. He bends down to collect the books.

Minhyuk doesn't seem to believe him. "I woke you up."

The apprentice sounds guilty. Kihyun berates himself for feeling happy about it.

"You didn't." He straightens up to put the books on his desk. "I was just being lazy in my bed. I'm relieved it was just books."

In spite of Kihyun's words, Minhyuk still looks somewhat concerned. Kihyun sighs, rubbing his eyes. "Now that we're both up, let's have breakfast. What do you want to eat?"

"Anything is fine," Minhyuk says and Kihyun nods. Eggs it is, then.

They make scrambled eggs—Kihyun makes and Minhyuk helps him (more like distracts him, Kihyun thinks, but doesn't say anything about it)—and when they're finally sitting by Kihyun's table Kihyun gets lost in his thoughts again.

"Hey," Minhyuk calls him suddenly, his voice unsure, and so quiet that Kihyun almost missed it. "I wanted to tell you something, actually."

"What is it?" Kihyun asks. The first thing that comes to mind is that there's something wrong about the curse. Kihyun is already panicking at the thought.

Minhyuk stares at his food, as if refusing to look at Kihyun. "I wanted to apologize, for yesterday."

"Yesterday?" Kihyun frowns. Does Minhyuk mean the argument, or whatever it was, that happened last night?

"I know that it's my fault, this curse and all," Minhyuk tries to explain. "And I definitely know that you're the last person I should blame. After all, I did a lot of things that you warned me against. So I shouldn't have lashed out on you like that."

"I don't blame you for getting angry." Kihyun hopes he sounds as reassuring as he intended to. Minhyuk doesn't look convinced. "It must be exhausting, especially now that your live revolves around hanging out with me, reading some old books and trying to find out how to stop it."

Minhyuk's shoulders slump, and he looks weirdly small for someone who loves teasing Kihyun about his height. Kihyun isn't sure what he should say to convince him that he understands.

"Yes, but that's what you're doing, too," Minhyuk notices.

"I agreed to help. You didn't force me to do anything," Kihyun reminds him. "You didn't want to get cursed. I can't blame you for being fed up with it. It's not your fault."

"I still wanted to apologize," Minhyuk says seriously, finally looking at Kihyun. "I should have controlled my anger better. I'm sorry."

Kihyun doesn't say anything for a moment. He thinks about Minhyuk's words, wonders what this may mean to Minhyuk if he's so adamant about apologizing.

"Thank you." Kihyun tries to choose his words carefully. "I appreciate that, really. But it's okay, and I wish you stopped feeling guilty about last night."

It doesn't look like Minhyuk agrees with him wholeheartedly, but Kihyun still takes is as a win when Minhyuk decides to leave it at this.

After breakfast Kihyun carefully interrogates Minhyuk about his symptoms that appeared last night.

"There are many types of bonding curses," Kihyun says after they're done.

There is a piece of paper in front of him as he writes the most important information. Minhyuk is sitting next to the witch, looking at whatever Kihyun is scribbling with a focused frown. Kihyun wants to ask Minhyuk how much he remembers about bonding curses, but he can already see that there's not much that Minhyuk can recall. He decides to let it go for now.

"You can group them in different categories. Some curses bond the target to objects only, or animals, or humans. For some curses this criterion is not important, though."

Kihyun makes a precise diagram, careful to make it as legible as possible. Minhyuk doesn't say anything and Kihyun takes the silence as his cue to go on.

Usually if Minhyuk doesn't understand something he's very vocal about it.

"Another category that you can use is the caster's awareness of who or what is going to be the second target of the curse." Kihyun writes down what he's said.

He looks at Minhyuk to see his reaction and Kihyun can't say that he's surprised to see Minhyuk's frown deepen. He tries not to sigh in exasperation.

"Do you follow?"

"I think so," Minhyuk says in a voice that suggests that he doesn't actually think so. "Go on."

Kihyun hesitates before continuing. "You can ask questions any time. It's important that you understand what we're looking for."

"Okay."

He doesn't ask any questions, though, so Kihyun goes back to explaining.

"The thing is, not every curse needs a clear image of the second target. Let's say, there are curses that are very precise. They can bond someone to any random thing or person that the caster sees. But there are cases where it's not the witch that determines who or what the second target will be. There need to be certain conditions fulfilled."

"Conditions?" Minhyuk echoes. "Like what?"

Kihyun purses his lips as he thinks about an example. "I think the most common one is, bonding someone to the first person they see. It's obviously not the case here, but imagine that is the curse the witch casted. If that was the case, you wouldn't be bonded to me, but to Hyungwon or Jooheon instead."

"So, you think that's the type of the curse?" Minhyuk asks. "You said you don't know the witch. So she didn't mean to bond me to you, she just wanted to bond me to someone and you just happen to be the right person?"

"It seems so." Kihyun nods. "We need to know what conditions she set. Only then we can figure out the curse and then how to break it."

Minhyuk blinks, slowly. He looks even more confused than before.

"That's why it's important to know if she said anything that gave away what curse she casted," Kihyun adds. "Because, honestly, without the clue it can take months."

Minhyuk shifts uncomfortably in his seat. "I don't remember it clearly now. We told you."

Kihyun sighs. He knows, he just had to try. "If you happen to remember anything that you haven't told me yet, make sure to tell me, yeah?" he asks. "It's important."

He's sure that Minhyuk doesn't need the reminder just how important it is, but he still says it. Minhyuk nods. The uneasy look doesn't leave his features. "I know."

When the day ends and both Kihyun and Minhyuk are too tired to keep reading about the curses Kihyun tells Minhyuk to go home. He makes sure that Minhyuk is alright and then once again instructs Minhyuk to contact Kihyun if anything happens. in turn Kihyun promises to always have his phone with him.

Last night was enough of a scare not to make sure that Minhyuk can always contact Kihyun.

Before leaving Minhyuk finds Changkyun, resting peacefully on Kihyun's books. When Minhyuk tries to pet him Changkyun suddenly looks at him, as if daring Minhyuk to do anything. Minhyuk puts his hand on Changkyun's head and Changkyun hisses.

"Leave him alone," Kihyun warns, although he doesn't know why he's even trying at this point.

As expected, Minhyuk doesn't listen. "It's okay," he says, too sure of himself. "He slept with me last night, I think he likes me."

And as if to prove that Changkyun does not like Minhyuk as much as Minhyuk thinks, the cat suddenly swings his paw, his claws scratching Minhyuk's hand.

Minhyuk instantly backs out, hissing in pain as he eyes the fresh red line.

Kihyun watches the scene in amusement. "Told you so," he sing-songs. It's always nice to prove Minhyuk wrong.

"You were so nice to me yesterday," Minhyuk says to Changkyun reproachfully before turning to Kihyun. "Your cat is a tsundere."

"Maybe." Kihyun shrugs. "Or maybe he just knows when someone is being a menace."

"I didn't even do anything!"

Kihyun snorts at Minhyuk's words. "I told you not to disturb him. Changkyun doesn't like that."

"Well, Changkyun will _love_ me one day," Minhyuk says, finally leaving Changkyun alone. "You will see. _Both_ of you," he adds, casting one last look at Changkyun.

As Minhyuk leaves Kihyun's smile wavers. It feels weird to bicker with Minhyuk as if everything was okay.

The next days look like this, and it works for them. Minhyuk comes in the mornings and leaves whenever he has a class, only to come back after he's done. It's helpful that Minhyuk is in his last year of training and doesn't have as many classes as in the beginning. Kihyun knows it's mostly because Minhyuk decided to take a two-year apprenticeship. Technically it means that Minhyuk will be better prepared for his license exams. However, in reality, Kihyun knows it's not necessarily the case.

Sometimes Kihyun thinks about Minhyuk's education. Sometimes he wonders how Minhyuk will pass his exams. Minhyuk never seems bothered by it too much, too comfortable with the idea that he doesn't need to take any exams until next year.

When Minhyuk's classes end he starts spending all his afternoons and evenings at Kihyun's, going home only when he's too tired to make sense of the words that he reads in the books. It worked well like this, so Kihyun doesn't understands why Hyungwon suddenly calls him in the middle of the night.

Kihyun is rubbing his eyes, not awake properly yet, when he presses the phone to his ear.

"He's sick again," is all Hyungwon says.

It doesn't make sense, Kihyun thinks as he looks at his watch. He saw Minhyuk four hours earlier.

But he can't ignore the call.

"I'll be there in fifteen," he says and hangs up.

Kihyun changes hurriedly and leaves the house, almost forgetting to lock the door. He runs to the dormitory, and when he's finally there he's panting so hard his chest and throat hurt. When he reaches the room 316 he doesn't bother knocking, just storms inside.

Minhyuk and Hyungwon are sitting on Minhyuk's bed. The former is cocooned in his duvet. Upon hearing the door open Hyungwon turns to look at the newcomer. Once he realizes it's Kihyun he gets up so Kihyun can take his place.

"The same thing again?" Kihyun asks, sitting down beside Minhyuk.

He shudders when he feels the magic that surrounds the apprentice.

Hyungwon nods. 

Kihyun didn't think that Minhyuk could actually get sick in such a short time and it surprises him to see how bad Minhyuk's condition is this time. He shifts closer to Minhyuk and grabs his shoulders.

"How do you feel?" he asks, softly.

"Cold." Minhyuk's voice is ragged.

His lips are pale, almost blue, and he keeps shaking.

Kihyun eyes him in worry. He cups Minhyuk's cheek with his right hand, and Minhyuk's skin is icy cold. He can't help but think that maybe they were wrong all this time. Maybe it's not Kihyun that Minhyuk is bonded to. Maybe it's something else, and the curse is progressing.

But then Minhyuk relaxes, sighing in relief, and it's almost enough for Kihyun to calm down.

"Better?" he asks quietly, but even though it's merely a whisper it still seems so loud in the night.

Minhyuk shivers and Kihyun wraps his arm around him. Minhyuk melts in Kihyun's hold. "Better," he says, his teeth grinding. He closes his eyes. "But it's still so _cold_."

Kihyun frowns. He finds Minhyuk's hands and takes them in his own, rubbing circles on his knuckles.

Minhyuk's shoulders don't stop trembling and Kihyun doesn't know what it means.

The witch bites his lips. He doesn't know what to do, but he does have an idea. He's just worried if it will be enough.

"Come, let's lie down," he offers finally.

But Minhyuk doesn't move and Kihyun isn't sure if Minhyuk even heard him. He places his hand on Minhyuk's shoulder and shakes him gently.

"Minhyuk," Kihyun calls him, starting to get paranoid, but then Minhyuk's eyes flutter open and he stares at Kihyun. "Come on, I'll help you."

"What are you doing?" Minhyuk asks. He whines when Kihyun tries to untangle him from the covers, gripping at the duvet tightly.

"Please," Kihyun pleads. "It will be better like this. I promise."

Minhyuk tries to put some more fight before he finally loses his grip on the duvet. As soon as he lets go of it Minhyuk curls himself into a ball, trying to warm himself up.

Kihyun isn't sure what exactly he is doing, and he's so afraid it will fail, but at the same time he knows it's the best that he can do. "Trust me," he says.

It's so hard to ask someone to trust you when you're unsure what to do, Kihyun thinks.

Kihyun abandons his shoes. He covers both of them with the duvet before lying down, his hands grabbing at Minhyuk's arms.

"Come," Kihyun encourages him, rubbing Minhyuk's arms. "It's okay."

"It's _weird_." Minhyuk scrunches his nose but lets Kihyun pull him to his chest.

"It's not, it's okay."

They end up cuddling. Minhyuk has his face buried in Kihyun's chest, their legs are tangled together. They have their arms around each other, and Kihyun squeezes Minhyuk, trying to stay as close as possible.

It takes several minutes before Minhyuk can relax completely. His face isn't as pale as before, but Kihyun doesn't let go, too afraid that if he does Minhyuk will be sick again. He doesn't need to wait long before Minhyuk falls asleep, his soft breaths tickling Kihyun's neck, but Kihyun doesn't mind.

He tightens his embrace, letting Minhyuk sleep peacefully in his arms.

Kihyun wakes up alone in Minhyuk's bed.

He needs a moment to realize that something is not right, and when he finally realizes it's Minhyuk's absence he shoots out of the bed, worried and scared. He doesn't know where Minhyuk could go, _why_ he would even feel the need to leave his room, especially after a night like this.

Kihyun puts on his shoes in hurry, unable to focus to even tie his shoelaces without getting them tangled. The witch curses under his breath because now is not the time to be panicking, but he can't help it, when suddenly the door opens.

Minhyuk enters the room, as if everything was alright, and Kihyun just stares at him.

"You're awake," Minhyuk says. He sounds actually surprised.

Kihyun doesn't respond, his eyes are fixed on Minhyuk, slowly noticing more details. He's still in his sweatpants and T-shirt that he slept in last night, his hair is disheveled. Minhyuk holds a cup in his hands with something hot. The steam makes smudges in the air.

Minhyuk probably looks just like he does every morning. It should be good, it should be _great_ , even, but it makes Kihyun feel weird.

He's staring too much, too long without saying anything, and he realizes only when Minhyuk starts shifting from one foot to another with a troubled look on his face.

"Uh, Kihyun?" he asks, unsure. "Everything okay? Did I do anything wrong?"

"No," Kihyun responds quickly, maybe too quickly. Kihyun is all weird, and it's because of the damn curse that he still can't figure out. He doesn't want Minhyuk to think that it's because of something that _he_ did. "Why would you think you did something wrong?"

"You're acting all weird," Minhyuk notices. He doesn't look any more assured. "Do you want something to drink? We only have coffee, and water, and—well, energy drinks, but I doubt you would want that—and you're probably hungry, right? Uh, I can make something, but we don't have much, I hope it will be alright—"

"I'm okay." Kihyun decides to take pity on Minhyuk, who looks embarrassed by the fact that he doesn't have much to offer. "I'm not hungry."

Minhyuk furrows his brows. "Are you sure? Because it's no problem, and if you don't like what we have I can always go to the store—"

"I'm alright, please don't bother."

Minhyuk shuts up at this, looking at Kihyun for a while as if trying to decide whether he should believe Kihyun before finally giving up. "Okay. But if you get hungry tell me."

"I will," Kihyun assures him quickly, stopping himself from rolling his eyes. He won't, mainly because he doesn't want to make Minhyuk do anything when he's not sure if Minhyuk is okay. "Actually, we need to talk."

"To talk," Minhyuk echoes, looking tired by only hearing the word. "What about?"

Kihyun gestures at the bed, as if inviting Minhyuk to sit down, which looks ridiculous because it's _Minhyuk's_ bed in _Minhyuk's_ room. Kihyun berates himself for feeling so comfortable in a place that he's seeing the second time in his life.

It's actually more ridiculous when Minhyuk obeys, shoulders down, steps soft. Like a child that's afraid they will be scolded by his parent.

"It's about the curse, right?" Minhyuk asks when he sits down next to Kihyun with crossed legs.

Kihyun nods his head. Minhyuk doesn't look enthusiastic about the talk. He's tense, his fists are clenched, and Kihyun knows that Minhyuk would rather avoid the conversation than talk about the curse with Kihyun.

Maybe it's something about the way that Kihyun feels so comfortable, or maybe it's something about his tense voice or tense expression that makes Minhyuk nervous. Maybe Kihyun should try to be especially gentle about the topic.

He doesn't know how, though, and he bites his lips in wonder.

"What happened yesterday?" Minhyuk asks quietly when Kihyun doesn't say anything for too long. "I just saw you, why did it happen again?"

Kihyun swallows. "I think this curse is getting worse."

Minhyuk looks at him questioningly.

"Sometimes the effects of a curse intensify with time," Kihyun explains. "That could be it. Or, another possibility, is that you've been spending so much time with me that it stops being enough. Like an addiction."

Minhyuk snorts at that. "Who would have thought that I would get addicted to you."

"You know what I mean." Kihyun rolls his eyes. "Besides, even if it's like this, it's not your fault."

"Yeah, I know." Minhyuk rubs his face. "So, what are you going to do now?"

"I think you should stay with me," Kihyun says.

They don't need to say how long Kihyun wants Minhyuk to stay at Kihyun's. It's obvious Kihyun won't want to let Minhyuk go until the curse is broken.

Minhyuk stares at him, and for a while Kihyun is sure that Minhyuk will tell him to stop joking. But, to his surprise, Minhyuk nods without asking any questions.

"Okay," he says, defeated. "I don't want to get in your way, though."

A little too late for that, Kihyun thinks, but doesn't say anything. It's not Minhyuk fault that this is all happening in the first place. Minhyuk never wanted to get cursed, and Kihyun definitely doesn't want him to die because of it.

"You won't." Kihyun tries to smile somewhat reassuringly, although he doesn't know if it works. Minhyuk's expression doesn't change. "Don't worry, we will figure out what it is. We will break it and you can return to your life."

For a while Minhyuk looks as if he wanted to say something but he never does.

Hyungwon is gone all morning. Kihyun and Minhyuk spend the time packing Minhyuk's things. It's only the most essential ones and they need a bag and Minhyuk's backpack to get everything before they're done.

When Kihyun is ready to leave Minhyuk starts whining again.

"I don't want Hyungwon to come back to an empty room," Minhyuk reasons with a pout on his face as Kihyun shoves the backpack in his arms. "That would be rude of me."

"When will he be back?" Kihyun asks, already dreading how long Minhyuk wants to wait.

He's okay with waiting half an hour. One hour, tops.

Suddenly Minhyuk looks to the side, scratches his head, and Kihyun already knows that he won't like the answer. "He has classes today, so maybe sometime in the afternoon?"

"We can't wait this long." Kihyun frowns. "We have work to do."

Minhyuk tries his best to look as miserable as he can at the thought of leaving Hyungwon for days, for weeks maybe, for who knows how long, without a prior notice. Kihyun, thankfully, is immune.

"Just text him," Kihyun says simply. "Besides, I'm not separating you from your friends, I'm just making sure you'll be safe in case anything happens with the curse. You will be staying with me, but you can still see whomever you want."

"It feels like moving back to my parents'," Minhyuk complains.

Good thing that Kihyun is used to Minhyuk's whining.

"It won't be this bad," Kihyun promises as he takes Minhyuk's bag.

Minhyuk sighs, saying quietly something that suspiciously sounds a lot like _yeah sure_ before grabbing the bag. "I'll take this."

Kihyun looks at him in disapproval. "You're not carrying everything."

Minhyuk opens his mouth, undoubtedly ready to object, but he gives up when Kihyun doesn't stop staring at him. He nods, letting go of the bag.

They leave, but first Kihyun tells Minhyuk to make sure that no devices are plugged in. When Minhyuk locks the door Kihyun doesn't want to leave until Minhyuk turns the key not once but twice, and Minhyuk rolls his eyes.

"I'm already regretting this," he murmurs, but Kihyun still hears it and glares at the apprentice.

"I heard that."

"Good," Minhyuk says.

Kihyun is baffled by how impolite Minhyuk is, especially that he's doing all of this in good will. "That was uncalled for."

Minhyuk ignores the comment. "Come on," he urges Kihyun, his bright smile already stretching his lips. "You haven't eaten breakfast yet, you must be starving."

Kihyun wants to say that they would leave sooner if Minhyuk wasn't so difficult, but he holds back his tongue.

Minhyuk acts weird, Kihyun realizes one day.

It's not that he started being weird all of a sudden. It's subtle, very subtle, and when Kihyun finally notices he wonders how long Minhyuk has been like this.

Sometimes it's hard to pinpoint how Minhyuk's behavior differs from what Kihyun is used to, but there are some details if Kihyun thinks hard enough. Minhyuk doesn't joke as much as Kihyun would expect. He spares Kihyun his annoying comments, his attitude isn't as obnoxious anymore. And, most of all, Minhyuk looks distracted most of the time.

Generally, it doesn't seem out of the ordinary. Minhyuk's whole life is one huge distraction. He can distract himself with anything. Some call it talent—Hyungwon, for example, or Hoseok—but Kihyun would rather call it a nuisance.

But it's different this time. Most of the time Minhyuk seems lost in his thoughts, and when Kihyun puts together everything odd that he noticed about Minhyuk, he can't help but worry.

"Is everything alright?" Kihyun asks one day when he realizes that Minhyuk has been staring at one page for fifteen minutes now.

Minhyuk looks at Kihyun questioningly. "Yeah, why?"

He sounds genuinely surprised, as if he had no idea why Kihyun would ask him something like this. It makes Kihyun hesitate.

"You seem absent lately." Kihyun observes Minhyuk carefully, searching for anything weird in his expression, but there's nothing. "Is there anything that bothers you?"

"No." Minhyuk casts one look at the book he's been pretending to read, and for a small moment something flickers in his eyes. It's gone as soon as it appeared, before Kihyun could realize what it was. "This book is just boring. We've been doing it for _days_."

Minhyuk groans miserably, falling with his face on the book, too dramatic to be taken seriously.

"You keep staring at one page. You didn't even read it."

Kihyun doesn't know what he expected. Maybe he thought Minhyuk's body language would betray him somehow, or maybe Minhyuk would say something that would help Kihyun figure out what the problem was. But Minhyuk doesn't do anything special.

"I did," Minhyuk lies simply, with a tone that Kihyun heard many times whenever he accused Minhyuk of not doing what Kihyun instructed him to do. "I just don't understand what's written here. This is pure gibberish."

Kihyun doubts it. Even so, he still shifts closer to Minhyuk. "Okay. Let me help you, then."

"No!" Minhyuk exclaims suddenly, sitting up straight. His terrified eyes are fixed on Kihyun, his hands press the book to his chest so Kihyun won't see what's written there.

Most probably Minhyuk can easily understand what's written in the book and he doesn't want to admit that he was, indeed, distracted.

And this is a reaction other than what Kihyun is used to.

"Okay." Kihyun gives up. He knows he won't be able to figure out what's wrong unless Minhyuk tells him himself. "Focus, then. We still don't know what the curse is."

He looks back at his own book, but right before that Kihyun sees something flicker in Minhyuk's eyes again. Kihyun almost wants to question it, but then Minhyuk relaxes, putting the book on his crossed legs, and hums.

"Okay," Minhyuk says, his voice soft, before getting immersed in the book.

The next time Kihyun catches Minhyuk slacking off he decides not to say anything, although he makes sure to watch the apprentice more carefully than usual.

At first, he doesn't notice anything strange. Minhyuk is being his usual self, but Kihyun has his doubts. He doesn't think that Minhyuk doesn't do anything because of his laziness or lack of motivation. Surely there's something else, but Kihyun just doesn't know _what_ it is.

Kihyun is a little alarmed when Changkyun enters the room and instead of ignoring them for the sake of his own peace, the cat chooses to go straight to Minhyuk.

Minhyuk doesn't react as he usually would, being all over Changkyun, trying to smother him with love. Instead he pets the cat absentmindedly, as if unaware of the familiar's peculiar behavior.

Kihyun sits up straight, closing his book.

"Minhyuk?" he asks, carefully.

At first Minhyuk doesn't react.

"Minhyuk," Kihyun repeats, raising his voice a little, and Minhyuk blinks, looking at Kihyun. "How do you feel?"

"Alright," Minhyuk says mindlessly.

Kihyun gives him the look which says that Kihyun doesn't believe him at all. This seems to wake up Minhyuk a little.

"You don't seem alright," Kihyun tells him gently.

"I have a small headache," Minhyuk admits, his hand never stopping petting Changkyun, who rubs his head against Minhyuk's wrist. "It's a little cold here— _oh_."

Oh, indeed.

Kihyun gets up before going around the table to get to Minhyuk. He grabs the apprentice's wrist, and Changkyun looks at him, waiting for Kihyun's next move.

"Come, we need the break anyways."

He tugs at Minhyuk's wrist gently. Changkyun leaves Minhyuk's lap and Minhyuk gets up.

"Is it the curse?" Minhyuk asks as if he didn't know already when Kihyun makes him sit down on the couch.

Kihyun takes a blanket from his drawer and gives it to Minhyuk before sitting down beside him. He opens his arms and Minhyuk doesn't need any other signal before he presses himself to Kihyun's side, his arms embracing Kihyun's waist carefully. Minhyuk rests his head on Kihyun's shoulder and relaxes as Kihyun starts playing with his strands on the back of his head.

"It's getting worse," Kihyun says absentmindedly.

When he realizes that he's said that aloud Kihyun scolds himself in his thoughts. Maybe he shouldn't be saying this to Minhyuk. It's clear that the curse is getting worse. The last thing he wants is to say anything that would upset Minhyuk more than he already is.

Minhyuk tightens his hold on Kihyun's waist and Kihyun bites his lips. "We will find out what it is." He tries to sound reassuring, but even in his own ears the words are way too enthusiastic to be real.

Minhyuk sighs before hiding his face in Kihyun's shoulder. Kihyun stops playing with Minhyuk's hair when he hears the apprentice start laughing.

Kihyun nudges him. When Minhyuk looks up he has a small smile and his eyes shine brightly.

Kihyun frowns, confused. "What?" he asks, and Minhyuk shrugs.

"It's funny," Minhyuk says simply. "I'd never think I would cuddle you like this."

Kihyun rolls his eyes at this, but doesn't say anything. Minhyuk puts his head back on Kihyun's shoulder and yawns.

"I'm tired."

It's only two in the afternoon, but Kihyun nods. Now that Minhyuk mentions it, he feels sleepy.

"Take a nap," Kihyun offers.

Minhyuk makes a confused sound. "Nap?"

"If you're tired," Kihyun says. "It's okay. We can stay like this when you nap."

"You'd probably do other things than take a nap with me."

Honestly, Kihyun wouldn't. But at the same time Kihyun doesn't want to admit that to Minhyuk. He doesn't want Minhyuk to think that Kihyun will always allow Minhyuk to slack off if they break the curse.

When, Kihyun berates himself. Not if, _when_.

"It's okay. You need this."

Minhyuk doesn't argue anymore. They shift, lying down on the couch, cuddling as Minhyuk rests his head on Kihyun chests and slowly drifts off to sleep. Changkyun comes to them, jumps on the couch and walks around trying to find the best place for himself before opting to lie down on Kihyun's chest, leaning against Minhyuk as well.

Kihyun doesn't need to wait long before falling asleep too.

Kihyun wakes up two hours later.

Minhyuk isn't snuggled against him anymore. The apprentice lies on his back with his head facing the opposite direction. He breathes softly, still deep asleep. They must have stopped cuddling at some point, but Minhyuk doesn't look pale anymore, and his skin is warm again. Kihyun takes it as a good sign.

Changkyun is nowhere to be seen, probably having decided to ditch them once Minhyuk got better. Kihyun doesn't blame him. With the way that Minhyuk treats him when he feels fine Kihyun would be surprised if Changkyun didn't develop a trauma.

Kihyun rubs his face, willing the sleepiness to go away, before he sits up. Napping on the couch isn't exactly comfortable, especially not when he has to share it with someone.

He looks around the living room, scrunching his nose when he realizes how messy it is. The books that they've read are scattered around on the table, just like their notes. Clothes are thrown on the floor, and Kihyun even recognizes some of his shirts, although he doesn't remember wearing them recently.

It seems that Minhyuk plans to make Kihyun's living room look like his own bedroom. At the rate it's going, Kihyun thinks he won't be able to recognize his own house soon.

Forcing himself to tidy around a bit, Kihyun gets up. He takes care of the clothes, then busies himself with organizing the books. He stops when he takes one of the books that Minhyuk finished reading the day earlier.

No page is marked in this book. Minhyuk knows he should tell Kihyun if he finds a curse that resembles his own, and Minhyuk didn't show anything to Kihyun yesterday, so it shouldn't be surprising. But Kihyun still finds himself opening the book and reading the table of contents before he jumps to the pages that he thinks are the most interesting.

Kihyun reads a bit and frowns, his confusion growing with each word. He checks the title, because maybe he remembers it wrong and that's not the book that Minhyuk has been reading, except he's sure it is. He remembers clearly giving it to Minhyuk, who spent an hour browsing through it searching for the curses.

Just how is it possible that Minhyuk missed a whole chapter about bonding curses?

The book is written in a beginner-friendly language, no heavy jargon used, and anyone, _especially_ a third-year student like Minhyuk should have no problem understanding it. Kihyun tries really hard to think of a reason why Minhyuk wouldn't tell him that he found something in the book, but there's nothing.

With a weird, heavy feeling in his guts Kihyun takes another book that he remembers Minhyuk read in the past few days. He scans the table of contents again before finding the part that may seem interesting, and when he checks the page sure enough there are also some pages dedicated to bonding curses.

Kihyun ends up browsing every single book that Minhyuk read after Kihyun convinced the apprentice to stay with him. None of the books have any pages marked.

By the end of searching Kihyun is confused and angry at the same time. He thought Minhyuk wants to get better. Kihyun doesn't understand what on earth Minhyuk is thinking. There's no explanation why Minhyuk wouldn't take this situation seriously.

Although, maybe there is. But no matter how much he tries, Kihyun struggles to find something that would excuse Minhyuk.

"Oh," Kihyun hears Minhyuk say behind him. "You started working again?"

Kihyun closes his eyes, trying to control his anger. He can't act out on his emotions. He needs to be calm and keep his head clear. He needs to give Minhyuk the chance to explain this to him.

But when Minhyuk lets out a loud, obnoxious yawn, which is _just so like him_ , he aggravates Kihyun even more.

"I haven't." He turns to Minhyuk. His voice is cold, and his expression must say it all because Minhyuk's eyes widen. "I was just cleaning and then I saw these."

He gestures at the books. He doesn't say anything, but he knows he doesn't need to. Understanding dawns on Minhyuk and Kihyun can see it clearly. He can also see the way Minhyuk tries to act nonchalant, as if he had no idea what Kihyun was talking about.

"Uh, yeah, the books." Minhyuk nods hesitantly. "What about them?"

"I thought you read them."

"I—"

"I'm _sure_ you did," Kihyun cuts him, picking the first book from the pile. He finds the right chapter before showing it to Minhyuk. "And I can't fucking understand how it's possible that you didn't tell me about this."

Minhyuk is silent. He doesn't pretend anymore. He doesn't say anything.

Kihyun feels overwhelmed. He wants to scream at Minhyuk, ask him about everything, but he doesn't know where to start. His head is a mess. If only Minhyuk could explain everything, without Kihyun having to get the answers out of him.

But Minhyuk is silent. He doesn't seem to want to start talking anytime soon and Kihyun is frustrated.

"Well?" Kihyun asks impatiently. "Don't you have anything to tell me?"

Minhyuk wets his lips before looking at Kihyun anxiously. "What do you want me to tell you?"

"I don't know, maybe fucking _explain_ why I'm wasting my time trying to find the fucking curse and possibly save your life while you don't seem to care about any of that at all!"

Minhyuk shudders at Kihyun's outburst. He looks at his lap, not saying anything at all, and Kihyun is so close to losing it completely.

"So? I'm waiting," he urges Minhyuk. "Do you really have _nothing_ to say?"

"Kihyun—"

"Kihyun, _what_?" Kihyun snaps.

Something flickers in Minhyuk's eyes, something that Kihyun has seen before. Kihyun is taken aback as he realizes that even though he has already seen Minhyuk like this, Minhyuk isn't distracted. All this time, Minhyuk was _troubled_.

And then Kihyun frowns as another thought comes to his mind and his anger turns back into confusion.

He doesn't think much before he asks, "do you know what curse it is?"

Just as he's saying the words Kihyun thinks it's a stupid idea.

But when Minhyuk doesn't say anything, doesn't even look surprised, just hangs his head low with a somewhat apologetic stance, Kihyun thinks _no way_.

The silence that falls upon them is unbearable.

"What?" Kihyun asks, dumbly, trying to make sense of it. "You _don't_ know what it is, do you? Minhyuk!"

Minhyuk finally looks at Kihyun, mixed emotions in his eyes, and Kihyun doesn't understand. Somehow Minhyuk managed to figure out what the curse is. They're so close to breaking it. Fuck, Kihyun should feel relieved, but it seems he can't get past his confusion.

"I'm sorry," Minhyuk starts, and he sounds so genuine that Kihyun can't find it in himself to be angry anymore. He's just shocked. "I was going to tell you, of course I was. I just wasn't sure how."

"What do you mean how?" Kihyun grabs Minhyuk's shoulders, and for a split moment Minhyuk looks afraid. Kihyun tightens his grip. "What the fuck! Why didn't you tell me, when— _what_ is it?"

Minhyuk's chin quivers. He looks like he didn't know what to say. "Kihyun, _please_."

Kihyun takes a deep breath. He releases Minhyuk and falls heavily on the couch next to him. He feels exhausted.

Minhyuk hides his face in his hands and Kihyun suddenly feels crushed by a new wave of anxiety. Minhyuk knows the curse, so there shouldn't be a reason for him to find it hard to say what it is.

Unless it can't be broken. Kihyun feels his guts twist. Maybe they have no means to break the curse. Maybe it will need more than casting a simple counter spell. Maybe there will be a whole ritual needed and Kihyun will need materials that he can't access right now. If that's the truth, he can ask Hoseok for help. Surely Hoseok would know what to do then.

Or maybe it's too easy like this. Maybe it is one of those dark, powerful curses that are deadly with no way to undo them. Maybe that's why Minhyuk didn't say anything.

Suddenly Minhyuk stands up, pulling Kihyun from his thoughts.

Minhyuk takes a deep breath, his back facing Kihyun. He visibly tries to give himself courage before finally explaining everything to Kihyun, and if patience is what he needs, then Kihyun will give it to him.

He waits anxiously before Minhyuk finally turns to him, a scared look in his eyes.

Kihyun can feel his heart constrict at the sight. He wants to comfort Minhyuk, to tell him that no matter what the curse is they will find a way to break it. They _have_ to.

"First of all," Minhyuk begins, swallowing heavily before continuing, "I want to apologize for not telling you as soon as I realized what it is. I really didn't know how."

"It's okay," Kihyun says weakly.

The way that Minhyuk curls in himself tells him that it's anything but alright. No wonder that Minhyuk thinks so. Kihyun's first reaction was to scream at him. Suddenly he feels ashamed for that.

"I'm sorry," Kihyun apologizes. "I should have listened to you before getting angry. I really didn't mean to yell at you."

"You were surprised, I don't blame you." Minhyuk shrugs.

They stay in silence for a while. It's suffocating. Kihyun hates it, but he doesn't want to rush Minhyuk.

At one moment Minhyuk says something finally, so quietly that Kihyun would never notice if he didn't see Minhyuk's mouth move.

"What did you say?" he asks.

Minhyuk presses his lips in a thin line, exhaling slowly before repeating, louder this time.

"It's the person I love."

Kihyun frowns, looking at Minhyuk questioningly. Minhyuk stands straight with an unreadable face.

Kihyun doesn't understand.

"What?"

Minhyuk swallows, shifts from one foot to another, and for a while he looks troubled before his expression hardens. It feels like Kihyun should know what Minhyuk is talking about, but for some reason he can't figure it out.

"Minhyuk," Kihyun says, brows furrowed as he tries to make sense of it. "Explain."

Minhyuk bites his lip. He looks like he wants to run away from Kihyun, but Kihyun doesn't understand why.

A few seconds pass in silence before Kihyun starts getting impatient.

"For fuck's sake," he huffs, Minhyuk's silence getting on his nerves. "Tell me what this is all about."

Minhyuk holds his breath. He fidgets and Kihyun is taken aback seeing how unsure Minhyuk looks.

"The curse," Minhyuk says finally. "The _bonding_ curse. It was supposed to bond me to the person I love—or, to something that I love, maybe—whatever. Now you know."

Except Kihyun doesn't know because it makes no sense. "Wait." He stands up carefully. Kihyun is still trying to process what Minhyuk has just told him. "Sit down. I think we need to talk."

He gestures at the couch.

Minhyuk glances quickly at Kihyun's hand before looking in his eyes again, his jaw tense. "I don't think we should."

Kihyun inhales. "Minhyuk—"

"I'm really sorry," Minhyuk cuts him, his voice quiet but stern. "I told you, I didn't want to bother you. We figured out the curse, so just help me break it and I won't get in your way anymore."

That's not what Kihyun wants. He wants Minhyuk to explain it to him, to ask Minhyuk if he's sure, if it's a _joke_ , because it seems so ridiculous.

But there is a part of Kihyun that knows Minhyuk is not joking around. Even Minhyuk must realize how serious the situation is. And however absurd it may seem, Kihyun knows what he needs to do now.

He gets up. His eyes never leave Minhyuk's.

"Alright," he says and Minhyuk's breath hitches. "Come on, there's a lot to do. We have a curse to break."

There's a total of twelve love-based curses, but only three match, considering Minhyuk's sickness and the details that he provided while describing the way the curse had been casted.

Thankfully, the counter spells won't interfere. It means that Kihyun can just cast all of them, one after the other, without risking Minhyuk's health or life.

Questions are swimming in his mind but Kihyun can't let himself get distracted. Questions can wait. Minhyuk can't.

"Tell me if you feel anything," Kihyun instructs Minhyuk as he makes the apprentice stand in the middle of his living room.

Minhyuk nods stiffly, stretching the sleeves of his hoodie to hide his hands.

Kihyun exhales before reciting the first counter spell.

The incantation isn't long. It has only six lines. When he's finished he looks at Minhyuk expectantly, but Minhyuk just shakes his head.

Kihyun lets out a breath and concentrates on the second counter spell. This one is a bit longer with a few more lines, although it doesn't take much longer to recite.

When he's finished with this one as well Minhyuk's expression is unreadable. Kihyun swallows, an uneasy feeling grows inside him at the thought that maybe Minhyuk is wrong.

If the third incantation fails it means that is not the curse.

Kihyun wets his lips, ready to cast the third counter spell, when suddenly Minhyuk gasps. Kihyun looks back at him sharply. Minhyuk's eyes are wide. He presses both of his hands to his chest.

He falls on his knees and Kihyun gets to him in an instant.

"What's wrong?" Kihyun asks in panic, his hands grabbing at Minhyuk's shoulders frantically.

Minhyuk catches Kihyun's wrist.

"I'm alright," Minhyuk says. His voice wavers. "I, I feel fine. _Light_. The spell—the counter spell worked."

Kihyun stares at Minhyuk, loosening his grip. When Minhyuk removes Kihyun's hands from his shoulders, he doesn't protest.

"Did it really?" he lets out a shaky breath. "Are you sure?"

Minhyuk huffs, nodding. "I'm sure."

"We can't risk—"

" _Kihyun_ ," Minhyuk says sternly. "It _worked_. You broke the curse."

Kihyun blinks, sitting down next to Minhyuk. "Okay. You would know, right?"

He wanted to say it as a joke, but he knows he failed. Minhyuk looks at the ground, not responding at all.

Kihyun bites his bottom lip. He doesn't know what to do with his hands, so he clenches them into fists, wondering what he should say. They did it, they managed to break the curse, but it's not the end yet. They need to talk.

If only Kihyun knew what to ask.

He looks at Minhyuk, whose gaze is still fixed on the floor, and something in Kihyun breaks. "Minhyuk—"

"I think I should go," Minhyuk cuts him.

His voice is soft. Kihyun doesn't know why it takes him aback.

"We should—"

"Kihyun, please." Minhyuk finally looks at Kihyun. There's something in his eyes that Kihyun has never seen before, some kind of vulnerability unknown to him, and Kihyun doesn't know what to say. "I want to go home. This can wait, right? We don't have to talk now."

There's a part of Kihyun that doesn't want to wait. He doesn't know when the time to talk will come, and he wants answers now. But another part, a bigger one, knows that he has no right to demand anything from Minhyuk.

"Okay. We will talk later."

He gets up, and Minhyuk follows right after.

Ten minutes later Minhyuk is gone, and when the door closes behind the apprentice there's still a heavy weight on Kihyun's shoulders.

Kihyun is patient. He can wait. So he does.

He figures that Minhyuk needs space, especially after having close to zero privacy for the last several days. He's willing to give it to Minhyuk. At the same time it gives Kihyun the chance to think about the whole thing on his own, beside returning to his life with no cursed apprentices who annoy his cat and apparently have crushes on him.

Changkyun finally can peacefully roam around with no fear that someone will squish him to death.

In the end all Kihyun does is just thinking. He can't focus enough to have any work done. He wonders a lot, mostly about Minhyuk's feelings, what the whole situation means, and what the right thing to do now is. Whenever Kihyun tries to motivate himself to do something he first reaches for his phone, only to feel relieved that there are no panicked messages about Minhyuk dying, and disappointed to see that Minhyuk didn't try to contact him.

The last message is a text that he got from Hyungwon three hours earlier, confirming that Minhyuk got home safe.

In the next few hours Kihyun catches himself almost texting Minhyuk several times. Each time he has to remind himself that he promised to give Minhyuk the space that he needs.

At night he has trouble falling asleep. Changkyun comes to his bedroom at one point. He jumps on Kihyun's bed and settles comfortably on Kihyun's stomach before curling up.

Kihyun scratches the cat behind the ear and Changkyun purrs.

Twenty minutes later Kihyun falls asleep.

The next day Kihyun texts Minhyuk, asking him how he's doing. He leaves the phone unlocked with their conversation open, but the 1 next to Kihyun's message still doesn't disappear after a few minutes. That's fine, Minhyuk may be busy, Kihyun tells himself as he locks his phone.

He can't pretend he isn't disappointed, though, when he checks three hours later and sees that Minhyuk still hasn't read his text. Kihyun knows Minhyuk too well to delude himself that Minhyuk didn't check his phone for three hours straight.

Kihyun doesn't quite know how to feel about Minhyuk avoiding talking to him.

It's understandable, probably, how Minhyuk doesn't want to talk to Kihyun. Kihyun knows better than to blame Minhyuk for that.

But it doesn't stop Kihyun from getting frustrated when the only message that he gets from Minhyuk is _sorry, I can't come today_ half an hour before their session, three days after Kihyun broke the curse. Minhyuk used proper grammar and proper spelling, and Kihyun can feel the awkwardness through the screen.

His first instinct is to text Minhyuk back, but he spends too much time wondering what to write. Finally Kihyun decides to call him, but Minhyuk doesn't answer.

Kihyun doesn't want to force Minhyuk to do something that Minhyuk doesn't want to do, but at the same time Kihyun knows they need to talk about everything that happened. He ends up texting Minhyuk every day, sending only one message in the morning, asking Minhyuk about his wellbeing or if Minhyuk is okay to meet anytime soon. Minhyuk never responds.

Minhyuk doesn't come for the next sessions either and before Kihyun knows it, a week has passed since the last time he saw the apprentice. And, honestly, it's slowly driving him mad.

It's obvious that Changkyun knows exactly what's going on. But every time Kihyun asks the cat what to do, Changkyun just sits down beside the front door.

To be honest, that's what Kihyun expected to be Changkyun's response. But it doesn't change the fact that Kihyun doesn't want to go out and _look_ for Minhyuk. He can't. Minhyuk should be the one to decide when they should talk.

His resolution lasts three days before Kihyun decides that he's had enough. He grabs his phone before storming off out of the house.

Maybe Minhyuk deserves space, but Kihyun deserves answers.

Surprisingly, it's not hard to find Minhyuk. Kihyun sees him when the witch is on his way to Minhyuk's dormitory. Minhyuk is walking with Jooheon, laughing loudly, as if nothing was wrong, and for some reason it aggravates Kihyun.

He approaches them with hurried steps, almost seething at the way Minhyuk appears so carefree when Kihyun has been a nervous wreck for over a week now.

Jooheon notices him first. His eyes widen, but before he can say anything Kihyun already speaks up.

"Fancy seeing you here."

He can see how Minhyuk's shoulders tense when he hears Kihyun's voice. Minhyuk turns to him, all traces of amusement gone from his face.

"Kihyun," Minhyuk greets him dryly.

It leaves Kihyun dumbstruck, but he can't lose his composure. He casts a quick glance at Jooheon before looking back at Minhyuk.

"Can we talk?" he asks.

Minhyuk presses his lips in a thin line. "I don't have time now."

"Like you didn't have time for the past week?" Kihyun raises his brow.

Minhyuk looks uncomfortable, but Kihyun doesn't want to miss the chance to finally talk to him. He knows that if Minhyuk could, he would run away from his problems forever.

"It's important," Kihyun insists.

Once again he glances at Jooheon, who shifts from one foot on another anxiously.

"Actually," Jooheon says suddenly. "I need to go."

Minhyuk turns to him sharply, his eyes wide in fear and Jooheon gives him a knowing look.

"You two needed to talk eventually," he whispers, although Kihyun can hear him clearly. "Text me later."

Then Jooheon smiles stiffly at Kihyun and throws a quick goodbye before leaving. Minhyuk scowls, tossing a quiet _traitor_.

It almost makes Kihyun chuckle.

"Good to know that you're alive." He lets himself smile a little.

His good mood vanishes quickly when he realizes that Minhyuk is not going to cooperate so easily.

"Look, you couldn't avoid me forever." Kihyun’s expression changes to more serious. "We need to talk about what happened."

"I'd rather not," Minhyuk mumbles, ready to go away but Kihyun grabs his wrist. "Let me go."

"Minhyuk, we _really_ need to talk." Kihyun's voice is almost pleading.

Minhyuk looks at the ground. "I don't think there's anything to talk about."

"There is so much to talk about," Kihyun presses. "I deserve some kind of explanation, don't you think?"

Minhyuk sighs, closing his eyes. "Kihyun, please—"

"No, I need to know," Kihyun cuts him. "You confess to me one day and disappear soon after. I know it was because of that curse, and you probably needed some time for yourself. And I tried to respect that, really. But you didn't contact me in so long and it's clear that you decided to avoid me. It confuses me."

There's no response. Minhyuk just looks at the ground. Kihyun lets go of his wrist, hoping that Minhyuk will give in.

“When did you figure it out?” Kihyun asks quietly. He doesn’t know if it’s his place to ask about something like this, to even say anything to Minhyuk.

Minhyuk _loves_ him. It’s such a weird idea. Such an abstract, absurd thing.

Minhyuk shrugs helplessly with a lost look on his face. “I started thinking about it the day when you explained bonding curses to me.”

Kihyun frowns, but Minhyuk isn’t finished.

“And the day when you…” Minhyuk starts, but trails off, looking vulnerable. It must be awful, Kihyun thinks, to be forced to confess to someone. “Well, the day when you said that I should stay at your place, I finally figured it out.”

“Why didn’t you say anything back then?” Kihyun asks before he can stop himself.

The hurt look that Minhyuk shows him is enough of an answer _why_ it was so hard for him to admit to Kihyun that he knows what the curse is.

“You’re always so angry with me,” Minhyuk whispers. “I annoy you so much, and we’re not even friends. I’m your apprentice, and you’re supposed to teach me stuff so I can have my license, it’s—I’m _sure_ that you won’t want to have anything to do with me after I get my license.”

“But you love me,” Kihyun says stupidly.

“I do.” Minhyuk shrugs helplessly. “I just never planned to confess. I would get over it, eventually. And even if I didn’t, it’s still better than humiliating myself in front of you like this.”

“This wouldn’t humiliate you.” Kihyun frowns. “Minhyuk, feelings don’t work this way. You can’t feel embarrassed for loving someone.”

“It’s so easy for you to say that because it’s not you,” Minhyuk says gravely. “You didn’t have to admit to have feelings for someone because you were bothering the person you love and risking to die if you stopped doing that. Besides, you had enough time to get used to the fact, while I still can’t get used to you knowing about it.”

Kihyun stays quiet for a while. “You really never wanted to confess?”

“No shit,” Minhyuk snorts.

It makes Kihyun feel awful. He feels like an asshole, even though he knows that it wasn’t his fault. Minhyuk’s feelings aren’t his fault, and neither is the fact that Minhyuk had to confess at one point.

Still, Kihyun hates the feeling that weighs heavily in his chest.

“Why wouldn’t you? Only because you didn’t want to embarrass yourself?” Kihyun asks. “You’ve done many things that many people wouldn’t dare try, and you’ve never felt embarrassed because of that.”

“It’s different,” Minhyuk replies. “Confessing would be bothersome.”

“Bothersome,” Kihyun repeats, mockingly. He can’t believe that this is the conversation he is having with Minhyuk right now. “But you confessed, and there’s nothing that you could do to avoid that. There’s nothing that we can do about it now, either.”

Minhyuk bites his bottom lip. “It almost sounds as if you said that it’s a mistake.”

“It’s not—god damn it, Minhyuk,” Kihyun groans in frustration.

Why can’t he say what he wants to?

“Confessing alone is not a mistake,” Kihyun says. “It’s awful that you were forced to do that, and it’s awful that the only thing that could make you confess was to threaten your life, but confessing is not a mistake. That’s not what I meant.”

“Then what did you mean, Kihyun?” Minhyuk asks. “Tell me. And also tell me why we have this conversation in the first place. Can’t we just forget about it all and pretend that nothing happened? I’ll finish the apprenticeship and get my license, and then you will never have to see me again, I promise.”

Kihyun presses his lips in a thin line. “I don’t think we should pretend it never happened.”

There are different emotions flickering in Minhyuk's eyes. Minhyuk inhales sharply and clenches his fists.

“Why?” Minhyuk asks, and Kihyun can hear poorly hidden anger in his voice. “So you can laugh at me about it?”

“I’m not going to laugh about it!” Kihyun exclaims, frustrated. “It’s just that we can’t pretend that nothing happened. We can’t avoid the topic, like you tried to avoid me this whole time.”

“Are you telling me it was wrong of me to avoid you like this?” Minhyuk asks in disbelief. “What was I supposed to do if not avoid you? Please, do tell me!”

“Maybe simply talk to me about it,” Kihyun says impatiently. “Communication is key. You should know that.”

“I know that, but there’s nothing for us to tell each other,” Minhyuk states coldly. “Why should we talk when we already know how it’ll go? I will tell you once again that I’m in love with you, and you will tell me that, no, sorry, you can’t do anything about that because I’m just this stupid, irresponsible apprentice of yours.”

“Stop putting your words in my mouth,” Kihyun snaps. “It’s not what I’m going to tell you.”

“Then what is it?”

“You would know if you finally listened to me.”

Minhyuk looks at Kihyun unimpressed, but finally he doesn’t say anything, and it’s Kihyun’s cue to go on.

Kihyun takes a deep breath before continuing. “I don’t think of you just as my apprentice. You’re my friend, Minhyuk, and I’m sorry that I didn’t do anything to make sure you know that I do like you as a person. Even if you’re obnoxious at times.”

Minhyuk rolls his eyes, opening his mouth already, but Kihyun quickly continues before Minhyuk has the chance to cut in.

“I care about you a lot. And while it’s true that I was confused when you admitted that you love me, and when I realized that it must be true because after that we broke the curse, but it doesn’t mean that I’m just going to ignore that, or tell you it was a mistake.”

Kihyun doesn’t know what he’s saying. He feels like he will start rambling any moment, but he knows he can’t. If he starts he won’t be able to tell Minhyuk what Minhyuk actually needs to hear. What Kihyun needs to say.

“You left suddenly, and I thought that I should have expected it. I thought we would talk about it the next day, but then you started avoiding me, and I was confused, because if the curse didn't prove that the confession was true, I would think you weren’t serious about it. I know you’re not heartless, and it was stupid of me to think that, but I was just so confused. And then I realized that you regretted telling me this.”

Minhyuk looks at his shoes, listening to what Kihyun has to say.

“At first I thought that you took your time to tell me about that because you waited for the moment when you would be ready, but then I realized that you never were. Probably you would never be. And then I knew what I really wanted you to do.”

“What is it?” Minhyuk asks, his eyes still angry, but his voice so tired. “Stop talking like this, and tell me finally what you want from me.”

Kihyun looks Minhyuk right in the eyes. “I want to take you out.”

Minhyuk freezes. “Take me out?”

“On a date,” Kihyun adds, swallowing hard. His hands are sweaty. “I want a date from you.”

Minhyuk snorts. “Now _you_ are heartless. Do you think I would let you take advantage of me like this?”

“I don’t want to take advantage of you.”

“I don’t need pity.” Minhyuk furrows his brows.

“It’s not pity,” Kihyun says. “I’m serious. You're an amazing person. Despite everything that I would say about you, I think you're incredible. Even if you’re a handful sometimes.”

“Kihyun, I swear—”

“I promise you it’s not pity,” Kihyun cuts him. “I’m actually one hundred percent serious. I don’t feel like you do, but I think that maybe it could be something. If you just gave me a chance.”

Minhyuk shakes his head. “Let’s say we go on a date. And then you think about how annoying I am and tell me that it won’t work. Or, in the best case, you will agree for more dates, but in the end that’s what you will think.”

“I won’t.”

“How can I know that?” Minhyuk asks. “It’s already bad like this. I don’t want you to break my heart.”

“I won’t break your heart,” Kihyun says, determined. “I know you. I know when you’re annoying, what you can do that drives me crazy—”

“Wow, such cruel words for someone who supposedly won’t break my heart,” Minhyuk snorts.

“It’s just, I know you. I know what to expect. And still, knowing fully well, I want to ask you to give me the chance. Because I care for you.”

Minhyuk looks at Kihyun with a sad look in his eyes. “You're saying that just because I love you.”

“No. I'm saying that because I think I could learn to love you, too.”

Minhyuk bites his bottom lip. “It’s so stupid.”

“I’m not trying to force you to go on a date with me,” Kihyun clarifies. “If you really don’t want to, then okay. I just want you to think about it. I want you to have this possibility, if you haven’t given up yet.”

Minhyuk looks on the ground before meeting Kihyun's eyes again. “You’re not taking pity on me?” he asks. “Because if you are and you don’t mean what you’re saying I will kick your ass. Or I will have Hyungwon do it.”

“You won’t,” Kihyun says confidently with a small smile.

Minhyuk snorts. “You think I won’t because I love you? You clearly don’t know me as well as you think you do.”

“No.” Kihyun shakes his head. “You won’t, because I mean everything that I said. I want to date you.”

There's a moment when Kihyun thinks that maybe it's not what he should do. Maybe Minhyuk doesn't want that, and he's ruining more than he thought. Fear creeps up on him, and Kihyun wonders how long Minhyuk has to stay speechless until Kihyun is supposed to back off.

But then Minhyuk manages to give him a smile, a gentle one, with only the corners of his mouth going up. His eyes soften, and they look at Kihyun so fondly, yet worriedly. He can't look at Kihyun for long and Minhyuk finally looks down, but the smile never leaves his lips.

"Okay," he says, softer than Kihyun has ever heard him. Hope spreads in his heart, and Kihyun thinks he will burst at any moment now.

He brushes his fingers against Minhyuk's, slowly, carefully. As if Minhyuk's decision was so fragile that one wrong move and Minhyuk will reject him.

When Kihyun wants to take back his hand Minhyuk brushes his fingers, too. Their hands linger against each other before Kihyun entwines their fingers. Minhyuk's smile widens.

"Okay," he repeats, more confidently this time. "Let's go on a date."


End file.
